Movie review The Bikeriders

Director Jeff Nichols has had the idea for a movie about bikers for years, but has been in no hurry to get started on production. His friend and actor Michael Shannon, who heard about Nichols’ intention, even remarked that he had been thinking and doing nothing for so long that the film would never reach the audience. The director was probably hurt by these words. So in 2022, Nichols finally started filming.

And in 2023, The Bikeriders was shown at the Telluride Festival, and in 2024, the movie reached the masses. And even though we can’t say that this is some kind of Magnum Opus of the director or something truly outstanding, Nichols’ biker fantasy turned out to be beautiful and full of ideals that cannot exist in the harsh reality.

The story of this film is based on The Bikeriders by Danny Lyon, a photo book published in 1967. In it, the photographer showed the life of bikers in the Midwest without unnecessary romanticization and embellishment. The film tells the story of the fictional biker club Vandals, but in many of the nuances and plot developments, the film crew was guided by clubs that actually existed, such as the oldest motorcycle club on the planet, Outlaws MC (founded in 1935), which was the subject of Lyon’s book.

The story is presented in the format of fictional interviews with a girl named Katie (Jodie Comer). She once fell in love with one of the “vandals” Benny (Austin Butler) and began to gradually immerse herself in the world of biker romance, which turned out to be more orderly than an outsider could imagine. And all thanks to the control of the Vandals’ leader, family man Johnny (Tom Hardy). However, the increasing popularity of the club brings new people to it – and not all of them are ready to appreciate the rules and the spirit of freedom, but instead see the Vandals as something more horrifying and disgusting.

In contemporary popular culture, bikers have developed a clear image that can be found in almost all works of art. There has to be something about freedom and rebellion; bikers are doing something illegal, but they are highly respected by society. The setting will be small bars, beer will be flowing, and additionally, you need to show bikers riding against the backdrop of beautiful scenery of “one-story” America.

The Bikeriders definitely didn’t do well with travel. There are almost no beautiful travels and chases in the movie. And the ones that are there are not particularly beautiful. The romance of the road was left out of the movie’s plot. And after many similar works, this fact is very disappointing.

Instead, the script focuses on the internal nuances of the biker club. In The Bikeriders, the main characters are not reckless thugs, but ordinary people with different views on life who are united by their love of disobedience. An important point: it is the love of disobedience, not the disobedience itself. That’s why there are plenty of exemplary family men and “reliable” representatives of a democratic society among the “vandals”. Johnny, for example, founded a biker club after spending several years racing motorcycles.

The Bikeriders shows that the simple pleasure of “sitting in a bar and drinking a beer with friends” is not just something heartwarming and romantic, but also a real magic that can unite people into a force that must be considered and respected. The film doesn’t get hung up on unnecessary details of the organization’s structure, internal code, and other details that many bikers are very fond of. The plot treats this very simply, as if it is well aware that any code is just an agreement between close people. And it is the closeness of human relationships that should be valued above all.

In parallel to the general story of the formation and development of the Vandals club, the complex relationship between Katie, Johnny, and Benny develops. The latter does not obey anyone and seems incapable of experiencing high emotions. But Katie and Johnny still want to keep him close to them. One sees him as a perfect love, the other as a worthy companion and a perfect biker. They are fighting for Benny’s heart in their own ways, but this battle is doomed from the start.

There is no excessive drama in The Bikeriders, quite the opposite. For most of its running time, the film feels airy and naive, which creates an interesting contrast to the brutal subject matter and setting. “The Vandals seem to become popular by themselves, and the protagonists don’t even have to do anything special to achieve this. They just ride bikes, drink beer, argue, fight, but always make up after quarrels and support each other in difficult situations. And this is admired all over America.

This naivety makes us smile, because in real life something like this is almost impossible. Closer to the finale, The Bikers shows that this is the case. Ideals are destroyed, ties are broken, and freedom gives way to something animal and dangerous. In other words, Nichols made a movie about how people’s ideals outgrow themselves, get out of control and destroy their own creators.

However, even such ideas still feel a bit straightforward. And the movie rests solely on them and the characters. It doesn’t have any interesting, compelling solutions, and even the mockumentary structure is too often abandoned and doesn’t use its interesting methods. In terms of visual language, the movie is as straightforward as its plot. Or the tracks the main characters drive, if you want more interesting metaphors.

The film crew also had a chance to portray America in the 60s in all its wild glory, but they treated this task as a convention. The zeitgeist in The Bikeriders is just a setting, and the script does not go into any particular details of the society of the 60s. However, sometimes it mentions the political views of various social groups and the Vietnam War, but these references do not change the general situation.

There is no depth in The Bikeriders, no ambiguous thoughts or complex moral dilemmas. There are no “buts” left after watching the movie, except that the script spent too little time on the development of the “villain”, which is why he does not feel threatening. The Bikeriders is a very simple, but still enjoyable movie. Like a glass of cold beer on a hot summer day. An incredibly stupid simile that still fits this story perfectly and tells you everything you need to know about it.

And yes, Hollywood’s main biker, Norman Reedus, also appeared in Bikers, of course.