The Bikeriders
Starring: Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, Austin Butler
Directed By: Jeff Nichols
Well, this is a movie where Austin Butler rides around on a motorcycle looking mysterious for 2 hours so it was a definite yes for me. The Bikeriders is based on a photo book published by Danny Lyon after he spent time in the ‘60s tracking the Vandals Motorcycle Club.
The Bikeriders has a bit of a Scorsese flare in the same vein as Goodfellas. As Kathy (Jodie Comer) narrates the majority of the tale with a thick midwestern accent, she introduces us to the world of the Vandals as the innocent audience surrogate. The club is led by Johnny Davis (Tom Hardy doing accent work that I’ll discuss later…) who started it because he thought Marlon Brando looked cool as a biker. It’s Benny Cross (Austin Butler) who reels Kathy into the world of the Vandals. He embodies what everyone in the club wants to be, a free spirit who doesn’t care about the opinions of others. Everyone hopes to be like Benny. The film explores masculinity, motorcycles, and the Midwest.
Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Mud) directs The Bikeriders with precision and style. A lot of the film hinges on its performances but the direction is intriguing.
Like other Nicols films, some sequences take their time to arrive at their destination. Some of the scenes could have benefited by being a bit shorter. There is a steady theme running throughout The Bikeriders of men resorting to unflinchingly violent and erratic behavior because they suppress their feelings so deeply. It’s a fascinating narrative on the dangers of toxic masculinity.
Jodi Comer is excellent as Kathy, our narrator for the film. She has a thick Midwestern accent for the majority of the film. At times, it feels over-the-top but it’s how the real Kathy sounded. Comer brings the audience into the story of a world where many of us wouldn’t be able to relate. While Benny is stoic and Johnny is menacing, Kathy lets us see behind their facades.
Austin Butler is again proving to be one of the best up-and-coming actors working today. He speaks very few words, yet commands the screen with his expressions. Benny is a man of very few words, yet he is a fascinating character. There is an obsession between Kathy and Johnny on who can have him: his wife or the club? Ultimately, no one can control him. In the words of the great poet Miley Cyrus: he can’t be tamed.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I need Tom Hardy to stop doing these accents. He does some compelling character work as Johnny. As the co-lead, his acting choices left me compelled by Johnny’s motivations and moral descent as his power increased. This accent is distracting though. At times it sounds like a Marlon Brando wannabe. Other times, I could hear the British slip through. Then, I was hearing traces of Elmer Fudd.
Overall, I’d say there are a lot of accents happening in this movie. I think Austin Butler should have stayed in character as Elvis to add to the accent mania that is going on here. Then, he and Tom Hardy could have one of the most intense sequences ever involving accents that no one in a biker gang would ever have. Audience members would cry because it would be so emotional. It would win every Oscar. Unfortunately, I didn’t direct this movie, so you’ll just have to wonder how that scene would play out.
The Bikeriders is a compelling character drama that takes the audience on a wild ride through a slice of 1960s Americana.
My Rating: 7/10