"The novitiate, in this case, is Colin Smith (Harry Melling), a genial young man from the southeast London suburb of Bromley. Colin works in parking enforcement, sings in a barbershop quartet, and lives at home with his endlessly supportive parents, Peggy (Lesley Sharp) and Pete (Douglas Hodge), who just want him to settle down with a nice boyfriend. But Colin doesn't settle down; he rides off."
"Not into the sunset-Bromley doesn't seem to get many-but clinging tightly to Ray, a tall, dreamy blond motorcyclist. Ray is played by Alexander Skarsgård, who has never looked more like a Nordic god than he does here: immaculately chiselled, and as disdainful of small talk as he is impervious to chilly weather. The two men first lock eyes in a pub on a winter's night, where Colin is instantly smitten."
Harry Lighton's feature debut transforms a bleak premise into a warm, humorous exploration of desire, submission, and community. The film follows Colin Smith, a genial parking-enforcement worker from Bromley who becomes infatuated with Ray, a tall, aloof motorcyclist, sparking an uneven but affecting romance rooted in B.D.S.M. dynamics. Alexander Skarsgård embodies Ray as an icy, godlike figure while Harry Melling plays Colin with earnestness and vulnerability, creating a compelling emotional center. The movie uses music, notably Betty Curtis's "Chariot," and intimate ritual scenes to illuminate subcultural practices and the characters' negotiation of submission, performance, and belonging.
Read at The New Yorker
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