Unlikely Rom-Com Pillion Shows That (Kinky) Sex Still Sells

It’s not every year at the Cannes Film Festival that a director urges the audience to “get horny” during a screening. Harry Lighton’s entreaty at the premiere of Pillion, his debut feature, was welcomed with laughter and whoops by the packed theater. The ebullient mood carried through to the end credits, which were followed by a lengthy standing ovation.

Pillion, which is now at screening at the New York Film Festival, portrays the relationship between Colin (Harry Melling), a timid thirtysomething who still lives with his parents, and Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), a hunky and enigmatic biker who initiates him into the world of gay motorcycle gangs and BDSM. At a time when the conventional wisdom states that viewers are increasingly turned off from seeing sex in cinema, the enthusiastic reception at the premiere was a resounding counterpoint.