Steven Spielberg probably doesn’t know this, but he was an unexpected source of inspiration when it came to editing Pillion. This kinky, sexually graphic British subdom romance comedy will be released exclusively on A24 in the US on February 6th (ahead of its nationwide release on February 20th).
In fact, if you happen to watch Harry Righton’s acclaimed directorial debut, which was recently nominated for three BAFTAs by the legendary filmmaker, you might notice how it captures the spirit of Jaws, which was famously frugal in revealing the true identity of the shark.
That said, in the case of “Pillion,” the monster from the depths is not the notoriously mechanically challenged pneumatic great white shark, but Alexander Skarsgård’s impressively sized artificial penis.
In a key early scene in the film, timid loner Colin (Harry Melling) has his first sexual encounter with burly biker Ray (Skarsgård) in a dark alley. But when a wide-eyed Colin kneels in front of him and Ray pulls down the zipper on his leather trousers, a decision was made in post-production not to show the shark, so to speak, says editor Gareth C. Scales.
“This is a nice-looking prosthetic penis,” he declares. “But I think it was really important to see it through Colin’s eyes. You really want to see it, but this way you’re like, ‘Oh my god.'” We know who he is, so we know we have a great cast, but we felt it was fun to keep it more of a mystery. ”
Of course, The Incredibles is not entirely shrouded in mystery, as anyone who saw the film on the big screen at the Palais at its Cannes premiere or in the UK (where it was released last year) knows.
“You can see the shaft coming out, but you can’t see the whole penis. I cut right before I thought I could see anything,” Scales admits.
