The Bikeriders [Review]
Jeff Nichols’ latest film chronicles the rise of a fictional biker gang.
The Bikeriders. Credit: Focus Features
The Bikeriders, based on a book of the same name by photojournalist Danny Lyons, tells the story of the rise of fictional Chicago biker gang the Vandals and the end of the “golden age of motorcycles.” Writer-Director Jeff Nichols (Mud, Loving) brings this story to the screen, having been inspired by Lyons’ work 20 years ago. When the long gestating film’s release was delayed by the WGA-SAG strike of 2023 due to actors’ inability to promote it, producer New Regency opted to drop the film from Disney and seek a new distributor, finally landing The Bikeriders with Focus Features for worldwide release. The delay caused the film to miss an awards season run last December in favor of a June release.
Danny (Mike Faist, fresh from the excellent Challengers) interviews Kathy (Jodie Comer), who gives him a window into what happened with the Vandals Motorcycle Club in the time since he rode with them for four years as a photojournalist while working on his book. The interview frames the narrative, which runs 10 years, including the time Danny spent with the gang in the mid 1960’s. Kathy finds herself in the Vandals’ clubhouse bar when she agrees to meet her friend there. Initially repulsed by the bikers, she is smitten with Benny (Austin Butler), a new member. Five weeks later, they’re married and Kathy is part of the Vandals’ world.
The Bikeriders. Credit: Focus Features
Through Danny and Kathy’s eyes, we see the Vandals evolve from a small group of like-minded misfits to a criminal gang, with founder Johnny (Tom Hardy) losing control as it rapidly expands with new chapters. Kathy and Johnny battle for Benny’s soul as he’s torn between his love for her and his loyalty to Johnny and the club. Benny is an avatar for the uninhibited joy and love of simply riding; what’s he to do when riding his chopper all he really wants?
The Bikeriders doesn’t spend too much time focusing on the gang’s increasing criminality. I expected a crime drama, but the movie is really a tragic romance. The emotional core of the film is the love triangle between Kathy, Benny, and Johnny, and the strength of the movie is in the power of their performances. They have good material to work with in Nichols’ screenplay, but their magnetism is what held my attention for the film’s runtime, along with fantastic character performances from Michael Shannon, Boyd Holbrook, Norman Reedus, and more. Shannon’s delivery of a monologue about being rejected as an “undesirable” when he volunteers to go fight in Vietnam, taken from an interview with the real rider that inspired his character, is a particularly powerful moment in the film that helps us understand its characters.
The Bikeriders. Credit: Focus Features
While the film is a very watchable drama, it isn’t director Nichols’ strongest work. Perhaps part of my opinion stems with a disappointment in the film’s central focus, of the film simply not giving me what I wanted or expected. There is definitely power in seeing how the freewheeling misfits of the early gang are overtaken by people who are angry criminals without scruples. I just wish we saw more of that. The fact that some of the original members just go with it when the gang becomes something it wasn’t is just left as a footnote at the end of the film. I would have liked to see a deeper examination of why that happened. Maybe I just wanted more Sons of Anarchy. I know this film isn’t that show, but I wasn’t satisfied with The Bikeriders’ examination of how its Vandals ultimately become like the Sons, how these eras are connected.
The Bikeriders opens in theaters on June 21.
