‘The Bikeriders’ movie review: Jeff Nichols’ 1960s motorcycle movie lacks narrative
Austin Butler, Tom Hardy and Jodie Comer are the stars of Mud director Jeff Nichols’ new film The Bikeriders, inspired by photographer Danny Lyon’s 1967 photobook exploring the lives of the Outlaws MC, an Illinois motorcycle club of the 1960s. Nichols’ analogue in his movie arrives as the Vandals MC, operated by Hardy’s no-nonsense leader, Johnny.
There’s a real combination of genres on offer in The Bikeriders, from gruesome crime flick to touching (yet greasy) romance to sheer ode to the glory days of American motorcycling culture. However, this fusing of categories means that Nichols’ film never really flourishes as any of them and instead serves as a somewhat eye-rolling romanticised pastiche of the past.
Butler plays Benny, a young member of the Vandals, with the Dune and Elvis actor doing his utmost to capture the spirit of James Dean. Butler’s effort is admirable – if a little irritating – but it’s primarily undone by poor narrative progression. Benny is a man who would most likely give up everything to ride his bike (which indeed serves as one of the movie’s central narrative facets), and yet we don’t know why he would, seeing as he arrives on screen fully formed.
What might have been better was a quick dive into Benny’s first experiences with motorbikes and how he was immediately drawn to them. Nichols seems more adamant about suggesting that bikes are cool merely because they are cool. Still, some six decades after the film is set, bike culture looks incredibly dated, especially with all the cheesy rock-and-roll blaring out of tinny radio speakers at the frequent meetups and “picnics”.
What’s disappointing on a production level, too, is that bar perhaps some of the main characters’ attire, all the costume looks so damn new and not remotely lived it at all. Narratively, The Bikeriders unfolds as Benny’s wife Kathy (Comer) tells the story to a journalist of how the Vandals were formed and became the most prominent MC in Illinois and the broader Midwest, initially for the love of the vehicle only to change into a violent and criminal enterprise inevitably.
During that period, Benny’s split allegiance to Kathy, who his quiet and sexy demeanour had first allured, and Johnny, who wants him to become the new Vandals leader, is put to the test. In the second half of the film, a handful of narrative strands provide their fair share of shock and intrigue. Still, considering the slow, ultimately dull, and passe opening hour, the smaller, more emotionally engaging stories evade proper telling. Even Benny’s love for Kathy seems to be assumed rather than fully understood; he loves his wife merely because he does, just as he loves bikes because they are cool, or so we are told.
There’s the odd direct reference to the great biking movies of the past, Easy Rider and The Wild One, the latter of which Johnny is inspired to begin the Vandals in the first place. However, it is relatively straightforward to see that the movie referring to them pales in comparison concerning quality. The Bikeriders pays its respects to the Harley Davidson and the late-night outdoor parties of the 1960s, but unfortunately, it focuses too heavily on its inspiration at the cost of telling its characters’ stories.
