Sometimes films can take us out of our comfort zone and show us a world we know nothing about through a lens of honesty and grit. That's what happened to me recently when sitting alone in the theater watching the new release The Bikeriders written and directed by Jeff Nichols.
The Bikeriders is a biographical drama about a men's motorcycle club that thrived in the Midwest through the 1960s and into the early 70s. This film is inspired by a photography book of the same name by New Journalism photographer and filmmaker Danny Lyon and published in 1968. Having Jeff Nichols as the director and writer of this film is a uniquely successful choice since he's known for creating patient, nuanced, psychological portraits of people or relationships like in Mud (2012), starring Matthew McConaughey, and Loving (2016) starring Ruth Negga.
Nichols provides another rich portrait, this time of a subculture of men who embraced the counter-culture underground of the 60s after being beaten down or discarded by mainstream American institutions like the military and the police force. Even the two main leaders of this club are clearly inspired by the mythologized pop culture figures of rebellion at the time named James Dean (Rebel Without a Cause, 1955) and Marlon Brando (The Wild One, 1953).
But The Bikeriders isn't all about tough men smoking cigarettes while wearing ragged denim vests or distressed black leather jackets. The members of this club follow a code of loyalty on how to greet outsiders and how to defend themselves (from fists, to knives, to fire). The Bikeriders is, of course, a little reminiscent of the famous motorcycle film Easy Rider (1969), but it's even more reminiscent of the 1981 film The Loveless in that it doesn't spend its time building a strong or continual narrative. This film is not an action-packed adventure about rival gangs asserting their dominance.
Since The Bikeriders is inspired by a photography book, it's almost like a photo montage adapted into film. This loose conceptual vibe makes this film feel less commercial. (Some viewers might watch this and think, "I don't get what's happening.") But the violence and emotion are so raw throughout, and the mood of collective masculine angst is so consistent, I felt completely transported.
Actors Jodie Comer (Killing Eve, 2018-2022) and Tom Hardy (Venom: Let There be Carnage, 2021) add significant emotional weight to the dialogue, and Jodie Comer's role as a conflicted/supporting wife helps bring some narrative for viewers to grab onto as she sticks by her man through the brutal misogyny, and home-grown resilience, of the club.
The Bikeriders is a great film to watch in the summer, because it feels distinctly American and reminds us all the importance of community.
