the BIKERIDERS
(***½)-VITO CARLI

"...one of the grittiest and most authentic biker films of all time..."

Satisfying Indy Film Deserves More Exposure

(010225) I have always had an affection for biker films despite the fact that there are only a few ones that qualify as classics such as The Wild One (1953) and Easy Rider (1969). Less impressive and more exploitative were the Roger Corman slate of 1960's biker films: The Wild Riders (66) Hell’s Belles and Hell’s Angels (both from 69). Then there is the very popular but absurdly ridiculous Billy Jack series of films (67-77) which shared many elements of biker films but was packaged as a different genre. Finally, the oddest one in the genre is the cult classic, Psychomania (73) about a gang of cyclists who make a deal with a demon in order to gain immortality and other powers. It' interesting to note that Marvel Spotlight #5 (first appearance of Marvels Ghost Rider) went on sale in the summer of 1972, a year before this obscure film hit theater screens.

And now we have The Bikeriders. This is beyond a doubt one of the most realistic and satisfying biker films in a long time. It is also one of the more celebrated Indy films of the year, going deeper into “biker culture” than anything since Hunter S.Thompson's book:
Hell’s Angels. It explores biker culture as an alternative lifestyle worthy of respect showing both the advantages and pitfalls. The documentary like film has many allusions to previous biker films and it should be especially enjoyable to fans of the genre. It is also one of the grittiest and most authentic biker films of all time. It was inspired by The Bikeriders by Danny Lyon, a thorough photographic study of Chicago bikers as well as interviews with former Chicago outlaw bikers. The film closes with shots of the stark black and photos from the book. it played at the Telluride Festival where it got rave reviews and it was supposed to be released in December 2023 but the release was delayed because of the recent actor’s strike.

The film was directed by the talented Jeff Nichols, who often works miracles with low to medium budgets. He is also known for doing films that explore Southern culture such as Mud (2012) and Loving (2016) which received best actress nominations at both The Golden Globes and Oscars.

The Bikeriders is dominated by a distinguished cast of skillful character actors. None of these actors are big stars and they are not particularly flashy or glamorous, but they all have a way of quietly disappearing into their roles. The acting is always first rate and understated. The cast includes the underrated but always excellent Chicago born Michael Shannon who worked with the director of The Bikeriders on Midnight Special (2016), Although comic fans probably know him best for his appearances as General Zod in the DC films such as
 the Flash (2023). Austin Butler also gives a stunning performance looking and sounding completely different than his role in Elvis (2013), and fans can also see him in Dune Part 2 from earlier this year. Norman Reedus who rode a motorcycle for more than a decade in the Walking Dead (2010-2022) and the spin off Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (2023-24) which I might review soon is also in the film. The actor is a real life motorcycle enthusiast and he fits perfectly in the film. The British actress Jodie Comer who was previously in The Last Duel film (2021) as well as The Killing Eve TV series (2016-2021) gives one of the year’s most memorable female performances. Tom Hardy, the frequent Christopher Nolan collaborator who played Bane in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and also was in Mad Max Fury Road (2015) is also very good in the crucial role of the leader of the Vandals. He channels both James Cagney while Austin Butler with his James Dean like performance plays off him well and defines cool in this role.

The film has been compared to Good Fellas (1990) which is fair but its plot structure also resembles the story of Boogie Nights (1997). Like the protagonists in that film, we initially are drawn in and made to love a dangerous lifestyle then after we get to care about the characters, we are horrified to see how their dark choices and actions take a toll and causes their lives to spiral out of control.

The film begins when Kathy Bauer (Jodie Comer) is being interviewed for a book about her time with the Chicago based Vandals motorcycle gang from 1965-73. She tells the story in voice-overs as we watch it unfold. She recalls how she met Benny Cross (Austin Butler), a violent, free spirited and uninhibited member of a motorcycle club. Kathy is in some ways similar to Lorainne Braco’s character in Good Fella’s (1990) because she is an outsider in an alternative culture who serves as narrator and she is a normal person describing an almost alien world.

Benny meets the leader Johnny (Tom Hardy) who founded the gang after being inspired by seeing Brando in The Wild One, Johnny becomes a mentor to Benny and teaches him all about the rules of the club who have their own ethical code different from societies. It turns out that he sees some promise in Benny and hopes to make him his successor as the leader. But Benny’s love, Kathy pulls him more and more in the opposite direction. Although she was partially attracted to him for his free outlaw attitude she increasingly wants him to embrace a non-biker life. The Vandals club lives by the survival of the fittest philosophy and the leader, John is sometimes challenged for his role and he must violently defend himself. Whenever a new guy shows up to fight, Johnny always asks him “knives of fists?” and he acts as if a fight to the death is an everyday occurrence.

For a while the film is all fun and games and the riders’ energy is infectious and the members live lives as uninhibited as Bonnie and Clyde. But the bikers also are involved in very ugly events. At one point Benny is attacked by another gang for wearing his colors in their bar and is savagely beaten. The Vandals threaten the bar owner until he provides the names of the people involved in the incident and then they burn it down anyway. They are also not above using torture for getting info. Benny is completely devoted to the biker lifestyle. Early on he gets into his brawl and he is seriously injured. He is very concerned when he might lose his foot only because he won’t be able to ride anymore if he doesn’t recover.

The film becomes darker when it jumps forward to the Viet Nam era. The group which was initially fueled by alcohol becomes even more sadistic, violent and hard to control after many of the members get deeply involved with drugs. For instance, Benny’s girl friend is accosted by two vandals at a party and if some gang members did not step in, she would have been raped in a scene that recalls a s similar one in Corman’s The Wild Angels. After a terrible incident which includes the crippling of another member, Benny has second thoughts about being in the group let alone being leader and in a crisis of faith he considers giving it all up.

The film contains songs by many classic rock performers like The Sonics, Gary US Bonds, The Staple Singers, The Shangr-Las, and Cream. The Shangri-Las songs are particularly appropriate for this film because several of their songs are about a “good Girl” who falls for a “bad guy” which reflects the relationship between Cathy and Benny. We also get to hear Cream’s “I Feel Free” as the bikers ride across missive landscapes as well as Chino which was also used as in The Wild One. I’m surprised they used no Steppenwolf which was the rock band most associated with outlaw biker culture.

Although the film played at a few major film festivals to great acclaim in 2023, it was not released until earlier in 2024 on the big screens and no one would call it a big hit. It recently came out on DVD and the Collector’s Edition contains some excellent supplementary material including documentaries on the era of bike riders, Individual characters from the film, and it also has commentary from the director. The additions make an excellent movie even better, and it deserves more exposure.
 

Directed by:  Jeff Nichols
Written by:  Screenplay by Jeff Nichols. Based on the book of
 the same name by Danny Lyon
Starring:    Austin Butler, Jodie Coner, Tom Hardy
Released:    10/22/2023
Length:    116 minutes
Rating:    Rated R for language, throughout, violence, Some
 drug use, and brief sexuality
Available On:    Streaming on Peacock, YouTube, Fandango at
 Home, Google Play and Amazon Prime plus it is
 available on a special DVD collector’s edition.

For more writings by Vittorio Carli go to www.artinterviews.org and www.chicagopoetry.org. His latest book "Tape Worm Salad with Olive Oil for Extra Flavor" is also available.
Email carlivit@gmail.com

See the film trailer of the Lee Groban movie directed by Nancy Bechtol featuring Vittorio Carli.
See https://youtu.be/tWQf-UruQw

Come to the New Poetry Show on the first Saturday of every month at Tangible Books in
Bridgeport from 7-9 at 3324 South Halsted.

This is now a monthly show featuring Poetry/Spoken Word, some Music, Stand Up and Performance Art and hosted by Mister Carli. For more information e-mail: carlivit@gmail.com for details


Upcoming features at the Poetry Show:

January 4 – Dami Andonova, Matt Churney, Dina Marie Marguerite Patrick-Stewart and Eric Allen Yankee

In February: Felissia Mae Cappeletti, Chiron Kingfish, and Adrienne Sunshine Nadeu
 

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Review © 2025 Alternate Reality, Inc.

 

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