The Bikeriders is the latest film from Jeff Nichols, inspired by the book of the same name by Danny Lyon, which explores the rise of a Chicago motorcycle club in the 1960s. It is mainly told through the point-of-view of Kathy (Jodie Comer), who is married to one of the members, Benny (Austin Butler), as she is interviewed by photojournalist Danny (Mike Faist). We follow the rise and somewhat fall of the original crew, who are led by Johnny (Tom Hardy), as they struggle to adapt as they expand their operations, taking in more people than they can handle.
The film is very much a riff on the Goodfellas formula, complete with a cold open with a freeze frame that cues in the narration. Though, the film doesn’t quite have the energy of Martin Scorsese’s classic gangster film. It definitely has the slower, melancholic vibe that you would expect from a Nichols film. It is a beautifully made film, it’s shot on 35mm, Adam Stone’s cinematography is stellar at capturing a very specific form of Americana, the soundtrack is excellent, with some occasionally evocative music from David Wingo, and Julie Monroe’s editing keeps things in a strong focus throughout the film.
Unfortunately, once it’s all said and done, the main issue with the film is that it feels like the bones of a movie. The plot beats are all there, but there is a distinct lack of meat to the proceedings. The film feels like a summary of itself, going through the motions, but without giving you enough details to really allow all the characters and their journeys to really sink in on an emotional level. Which is a strange problem to have considering the film doesn’t feel rushed, but at under two hours, I don’t think itself the time to really dig into inner lives of these characters and showcase their ethos outside of expository dialogue.
While Kathy is the POV, Benny is essentially the character who’s journey we are more closely following, and yet, I didn’t really get to know him. We meet him already as a member, we don’t get much backstory, and his whole deal is that he’s very chill and quiet, so there isn’t much to work with. What exactly is the philosophy of Johnny’s vision for his club? I can’t say for sure. He is inspired by seeing Marlon Brando on TV, gathers his friends, and they becomes a sort of found family. But again, we don’t really dig too deep into the relationship that these guys have with one another, a lot of it feels very detached.
For example, it was highlighted early in the film that Johnny isn’t the kind of person you would expect to lead a biker club. He’s a family man, he has two daughters. But we get one brief scene of them all together when we get the flashback to him watching Brando on TV, and we see him interacting with the wife very quickly in another scene very late into the film. He hardly ever talks brings up his family during the film, we don’t see him converse with his daughters. We don’t see how his devotion to the group affects his relationship to his family. It’s just…nothing, there’s just nothing there. And a much more cohesive and well rounded film would have the curiosity to explore those avenues to further enrich our understanding of Johnny as a person, but we just don’t get that. And it’s basically the same with everyone.
It does help that the performances are really strong. You have a who’s who of really great character actors and up-and-comers. Obviously, Comer and Butler are on the rise in recent years, Hardy is as strong as ever, but you also got folks like Michael Shannon, Boyd Holbrook, Damon Herriman, Karl Glusman, Beau Knapp, and Norman Reedus, all of whom do manage to make a strong impression, bringing in enough personality to these misfits that you do end up being engaged by them whenever they are on screen. Nichols has always done good work with actors, and his grasp on the ensemble is really commendable. Plus, you got some…interesting accent choices here.
Despite my reservations with the storytelling and overall depth – or lack thereof – in the film, I still very much enjoyed The Bikeriders. The narrative is inherently compelling, and we don’t get a lot of biker movies, and I personally find this subculture at this period in time to be super fascinating. While I wish the film dug a bit deeper with the cultural context and the characters, I still think they do a solid job crafting an entertaining crime drama with strong performances across the board. There are moments where it does truly transcend, and it delivers on incredible vibes, and it does make the journey truly worth taking. I do think there is a genuinely masterful biker epic that has yet to be made, this comes close, but doesn’t reach those heights. Even a brief glance at the Wikipedia page for the real club shows this really just scratches the surface. But overall, as a meditation on masculinity, of community, and I guess the stuff you do when you get bored living in the Midwest, it’s a good time.
The Bikeriders is now out in theaters.