The Bikeriders

The Plot: Chicago, 1965. After watching Marlon Brando rebel against everything in The Wild One, Johnny (Tom Hardy) sets up a motorcycle club called The Vandals. Gathering together with fellow-minded motorheads, their ranks soon grow to include ice-cool Benny (Austin Butler) – who draws the eye of Kathy (Jodie Comer) at a bar one night. They get to know each other over the petrol fumes and late-night drinks, with a quick romance soon blossoming. However, as the club continues to grow and newbies come to challenge the OGs, there’s the potential for crime and conflict for all concerned…

The Verdict: Having debuted at various film festivals last year, it’s taken a while for The Bikeriders to finally hit the main road after a change of distributors and of course, the Hollywood strife that is still having an impact on this summer’s gloomy box office. Outside of the fiercely competitive Awards Season, The Bikeriders can now be viewed without all that high expectation. Instead, it can be taken on a surface level as a vivid slice of midwestern Americana motorbike culture shot through with a dose of photojournalistic realism. Director Jeff Nichols got the idea for the film some two decades ago when leafing through a coffee table book in his brother’s apartment. It documented the lives of The Vandals motorcycle club, with photojournalist Danny Lyons embedded with the group for several years. Here, Lyons is represented by Mike Faist who flits in and out of the story charting the rise of this group of individuals who live by a certain code.

Interestingly though, with all these male characters and their often macho behaviour, the film is mostly viewed through the perspective of Kathy. She’s a sparky, street-smart young woman with no illusions about what she’s getting herself into. Being with Benny means being with the club and Benny is loyal to club president Johnny to a fault. Johnny also sees something strongly resilient in Benny and is essentially grooming him for command. However, it takes Kathy to make Benny realise that mortality and important life choices are also viable considerations. This is where the strength of Nichols’ script shines through. He roots the story in a relatable environment and down-to-earth characters that doesn’t attempt to glamourise or idolise them through a rose-tinted view of the past. Yes, The Vandals are cool and so are their bikes but Nichols is more interested in building up the idea of a community that gradually turns to violence as it changes over time.

The film is bolstered by a trio of fine performances from Austin Butler (further cementing his reputation as an actor to watch), Tom Hardy (mumbling occasionally but still a strong physical and character presence in any film) and the excellent Jodie Comer, who comfortably walks away with the film as the most memorable character. Benny and Johnny are laconic men – their emotions are often etched on their battle-weary eyes. Kathy is neither an outsider nor an observer here – she’s a player on this stage and a character who knows her own worth. Viewed through her eyes, the story is a more rounded affair. True to its nature though, there are some rough edges here and there along with bumps on the road. The club’s turn to crime is a bit undercooked storywise, resorting more to a sudden burst of violence to settle things rather than discussing the devastating impact of it. Michael Shannon and Norman Reedus, both great character actors, could have been given more to do than just look a bit stoned as well.

The Bikeriders succeeds in capturing the zeitgeist of the 1960s, moving on from the James Dean-influenced youthquake from the previous decade to embrace a more adult approach to the responsibilities of being part of a community and being part of a marriage simultaneously. It’s an easy enough but also engaging journey with these easy riders, making it a measured and welcome alternative to the usual summer fare.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Review by Gareth O’Connor