StubStack: The Bikeriders
I have mixed, but mostly good feelings about The Bikeriders.
The Jeff Nichols film starring Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, and Austin Butler follows a Chicago motorcycle club in the 60s and 70s called the Vandals. The film is based on a photography book by the same name written and photographed by Danny Lyon, who’s portrayed in the movie by Mike Faist. Lyon took an interest in this social club and its cast of characters, photographing and interviewing its members. A woman named Kathy (played by Jodie Comer) was also interviewed, she had made her way into the Vandals' social circle around this time. The interviews with Kathy, in 1967 and 1973, served as the storytelling framework for this film.
The Bikeriders, in many ways, is trying to be like Goodfellas. This evocation of Goodfellas is evident from the opening scene. The violence, the camera movements, and of course, the editing style. The Bikeriders, however, lacks the flare, the immersive world-building, and the forceful punch with which Goodfellas is delivered.
It did feel like there was more juice to be squeezed here. It’s not often I feel this way but The Bikeriders would’ve benefitted from a longer cut. There was room to add detail and texture to Johnny (played by Tom Hardy). I would’ve liked to know what his relationship with his wife and kids was like, how he felt about his job and his economic circumstances, and what moved him to start this social club beyond some assumed but vague subconscious yearning for community. I want to know WHY.
A longer runtime also would’ve served more detailed world-building. The Bikeriders takes place in Chicago but I only know that because they told me. SHOW ME. Show me the city. Develop the culture and the vibe of the film’s world by displaying some sort of tradition or ceremony or something in that vein. I needed more depth and detail to feel like this world was real.
It’s obvious The Bikeriders took inspiration from Goodfellas but there was no scene equivalent to Henry and Karen’s first date, for example. Henry took Karen to a restaurant he frequented. The scene is a beautiful one-shot as they walk through the back, into the kitchen, and then out into the dining room filled with distinct and aesthetically pleasing characteristics. Henry greets everybody as he tells the audience who these people are and what they mean in this time and place. Another scene from Goodfellas that comes to mind as a fantastic world-building scene is when they’re cooking dinner in prison, which communicates the influence of the mob and the depth and tradition of Italian culture. The Bikeriders didn’t have enough of these elements to draw me in and lose myself in the late '60s and early '70s Chicago biker gang culture.
So far it may not seem like I liked The Bikeriders very much but I did like it! It’s good! There is a ton to appreciate! It looks and sounds great. Each frame carefully concocted and considered. The score and soundtrack, fluidly integrated. The Bikeriders looks and sounds better than most films.
The performances, from everybody, but especially the three leads, were fantastic too.
I appreciated that Nichols chose to approach the story from Kathy’s perspective. I’m not sure if that was the choice because it made the most sense given the source material, or if Nichols thought it was the best way to tell this story, or both. Kudos nonetheless.
Jody Comer’s performance as Kathy was delightful. The accent was a real swing and it totally connected for me. I imagine that choice will be divisive, and might take some viewers out of it, which I understand. But Comer’s talent shines here. She is doing a ton of the heavy lifting. Most of the exposition is on her shoulders and the entirety of the narration is. Plus, connecting with her raises the emotional stakes of the film. If you don’t enjoy her performance you’re probably not going to like this movie.
Entering the theater I would’ve thought that Kathy and Benny’s relationship would be the most interesting of the three leads, but I found that Kathy and Johnny, and Johnny and Benny, that those two relationships were the ones I wanted to see more of.
This is why I think one could credibly argue that Tom Hardy is the lead of this film. He is quietly powerful and contemplative as Johnny, the leader of the Vandals. Johnny is a bit menacing, and maybe a little selfish, but is considerate and kind enough to remain likable. That’s a tough needle to thread, but Hardy finds a way. I wish we got to learn more about Johnny, his past, and his motivations.
What we do learn about Johnny is that he has a deep emotional connection to Benny, the character played by Austin Butler.
Butler solidified his movie stardom for me with his performance as Benny. Despite having maybe 30 lines of dialogue throughout, he is a powerful presence and much of the movie hinges on his somehow both smooth and chaotic charisma. His brooding nature, his wild, bad-boy antics, and his smoldering looks make it hard not to enjoy when he’s on screen. When Benny’s first introduced, he’s seen from Kathy’s perspective, looking up at her from the pool table in a bar. I don’t know how anyone could watch that and come away thinking anything other than, “he’s got it”. This magnetism is vital because Butler’s character is at the center of a love triangle.
And I got to say, a love triangle is not what I was expecting from a film about a motorcycle gang but it certainly was one of the main elements. Johnny and Kathy fighting over Benny is a constant throughline. There’s even a scene during which Kathy yells at Johnny, “You can’t have him, he’s mine!”. I also thought at one point Johnny and Benny were going to kiss, which would’ve made absolutely no sense given the context, but it still felt like it might happen! The more I think and write about The Bikeriders the more I wish it was longer and gave us more detail about these relationships and how they shaped these people and their decision-making.
While The Bikeriders is more of a love story than I’d imagined, it’s also very much an examination of masculinity, relationships, community, and control. Many of these guys were not fulfilled in life before this club. It’s why they’ve made it so much, or in some cases, the entirety of their identities. They didn’t have community, they felt like outcasts before the Vandals. And given the lack of screen time for Johnny’s family, I’d imagine a lot of them didn’t love the lives they’d created for themselves at home.
The jockeying for power between the men in the club, the dilution of that power as the club grows, and the peril that surrounds these events drive home the dangers of masculinity and its lust for power and control. These emotional details were some of the film's strongest elements.
Even though there was a bit of punch missing from the plot. And I would’ve appreciated greater detail about the characters and the world they inhabit. The Bikeriders looks and sounds excellent. The performances drew me in. And the themes were strong and communicated well. I like The Bikeriders! It’s a good movie that I’d recommend.