The Bikeriders
My mother and I got into “Sons of Anarchy” as it was wrapping up its run, and it was obvious that it was less authentic biker culture in its narrative and more pulp. What did feel authentic in the series, however, was the brotherhood between everyone in the motorcycle club at the center of the show. Jeff Nichols’s film, “The Bikeriders,” isn’t after pulp entertainment, but a character study in found family, and how important that can be for men. Even though the main character is Kathy, played by Jodie Comer, the way Benny, played by Austin Butler, feels whole because of his involvement in the Vandals MC, and yet, also feels apart from it at times, is where this film gets its heart and soul. That balancing act of a woman’s perspective of a man’s life is where Nichols scores in this movie.
The structure of the film is based around an interview Kathy is having with Danny (Mike Faist), who was a photography student when he was riding with the Vandals MC out of Chicago until 1969, taking pictures and interviewing members for a possible book. (Nichols’s film is inspired by the story of Danny Lyon’s photo-book of the same name from 1967.) By the time they are talking, Kathy has put the life of being the wife of a Vandal long past her- we see how she inadvertently gets involved with the club when she meets a friend at the bar the MC frequents, and Kathy first meets Benny and Johnny, the Vandals’s leader (played by Tom Hardy). It’s not long before her and Benny are married, and the club is as much her life as it is his. As the times change, with new members, with motorcycle club culture growing, and the counter-culture takes hold, so do the dynamics of the Vandals, as well as the appetite of Kathy and Benny to be a part of it.
Nichols seems to be lifting from a lot of different inspirations in how he approaches “The Bikeriders”- a little bit “The Godfather,” a little bit “GoodFellas” a little bit “Easy Rider” and a little bit of coming-of-age film. I like the blend a lot; the film isn’t vulgar or violent enough to be off-putting, but it also doesn’t shy away from the toxic masculinity at the heart of such a club. When we think about motorcycle clubs, we think of Hell’s Angels, gang violence and sex and drugs. There is some of that is “The Bikeriders,” but a lot of this film takes place as a hazy memory of the purity of finding a community, and being able to feel like there are people who get us, even if we don’t always realize that ourselves. I think the thing I found most intriguing in his approach to “The Bikeriders” is how he treats the club as a whole as an organism that grows and changes as much as any of the individuals in it. Certainly, Benny and Johnny are at the heart of the Vandals, but it’s hard to imagine this film without the great Michael Shannon as Zipco; Damon Harriman as Brucie, Johnny’s right hand; and Norman Reedus as Funny Sonny, a California rider who comes for one reason, but stays for another. We also get interesting glimpses of Toby Wallace as “The Kid,” who sees the Vandals riding, and only wants to join them. Actions always come with consequences, though, and more than a few of the main characters will find that out along the way.
That it’s Kathy’s voice framing the story is ultimately what makes “The Bikeriders” such a fascinating, entertaining film. She is speaking from a perspective of distance, but she also knows enough about the inner workings of the club- and especially, Johnny’s mind- that we don’t see her as an unreliable narrator. The central performances- Comer, Butler and Hardy- all shine, and we get a different sense of how they come to the challenges the Vandals puts in front of them. In the end, though, they will only be able to get so far before a breaking point comes. How they each face it feels like a revelation from all three. They turn “The Bikeriders” into something profound, a look at how adult responsibilities- be they emotional or in terms of things to be done- effect us when we’re used to a certain way of living for so long.
