The Bikeriders ★★★

The Bikeriders, Jeff Nichols’ first film since 2016’s Loving, is inspired by a photobook made in 1968 of the same name. In Danny Lyon’s photobook, the lives of outlaw motorcyclists from the American Midwest were chronicled between 1963 and 1967. Lyon embedded himself in the experiences of the bikers, which enabled him to intimately capture the growth of the Chicago chapter of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Nichols’ adaptation of Lyon’s work, though fictional in part, sets out to follow Lyon in documenting the quintessential spirit of the American biker lifestyle. 

Nichols establishes a central point of view for much of the film through Kathy (Jodie Comer), a young woman who describes her relationship to her local motorcycle club. She recounts her tales to photographer Danny (Mike Faist), who is seen photographing and recording intermittently. The film gives a clear nod to the source material by occasionally rolling out Danny and his photographic gear, but Nichols prefers to get into his story through Kathy’s no-nonsense demeanor.

Kathy’s initial encounter with the Chicago Vandals, facilitated by a friend, leaves her horrified. This initial horror swiftly melts away, though, when Benny (Austin Butler), rugged and brooding, captures her attention from across the grime of the biker bar. Butler delivers a commendable performance in this role, embodying the archetype of the quiet, mysterious, and handsomely introverted loner. Benny, his character, harbors a distinct nihilistic streak within him, effectively playing into and expanding upon the trope. Even as he becomes attached to Kathy, Benny never seems settled unless he is on the road.

Run by the visibly weary Johnny (Tom Hardy), the Vandals biker club is showcased not as a generic gang, but a community where genuine interest in bikes is the glue that binds. This brought to mind those pure-hearted rock bands of yesteryear, where the allure lay in the music, not the celebrity. I was amused, and perhaps a touch moved, to discover Johnny—despite his ostensibly settled life as a married father of two—finding an unexpected muse in Marlon Brando’s rebellious role in The Wild One. The desire to be part of something bigger than yourself is where the first half of the film succeeds, effectively portraying a group of men in a sort of post-war spiritual daze finding solace in one another and their bikes. And as we are introduced to a litany of fellow members, Nichols brings out many solid performances from the likes of Michael Shannon, Damon Herriman, Karl Glusman, Norman Reedus, and Beau Knapp, who go by names like Zipco, Brucie, Corky, Funny Sonny, and Wahoo. 

Tom Hardy’s standout performance embodies the Vandals’ toughness and vulnerability. His face does an incredible amount of work, looking solemn, sad, yet ready to lose his mind at any moment, as if the character of Johnny really bought into Brando’s Johnny Strabler. Comer, Butler and supporting cast all put in shifts here, as Nichols sets them up to first wade through what feels like a rejected world, to then deal with a new, more dejected generation looking to bring the Vandals into a different, unwelcome era. This is where the film stumbles slightly. New kids on the block seek membership, as do veterans returning from other conflicts. There is an unbalance in the film’s world that does not feel addressed beyond Kathy, Benny, and Johnny. 

At the hands of Toby Wallace’s character, ‘The Kid’, the Vandals slip away from Johnny and its original members, figuratively and literally. Johnny slips further and further into violence and anger that law-breaking, extending beyond the occasional speeding ticket, becomes increasingly common. The film gradually descends into entropy and the threads of community and belonging unravel, which the film does well to establish for a good 45 minutes. While The Bikeriders manages to keep its wheels turning, steadily riding along the bumpy road of rebellious spirit and community dissolution, it’s the crash of its messy climax that leaves us amidst the wreckage, pondering whether we find solace in the journey, or if it’s the chaotic disarray of an abrupt halt that will linger in our rear-view mirror.