I took a week off to go on a long-delayed vacation, and now I am back for another week off where I can maybe catch up on some movies. First up: The Bikeriders, a drama very loosely based on a real life motorcycle club in the sense that the basis was a book of photography and a handful of recorded interviews. Most of the movie is actually fiction. It was supposed to come out last December, but instead was moved to June. That’s kinda confusing if you think about it. December is mostly there for awards bait and the occasional family film, and The Bikeriders is most certainly not the latter. June is for summer blockbusters that studios hope will rake in millions in box office. So, which category should The Bikeriders fall under?
I don’t know. I almost saw it alone in a theater room until four or five teenagers showed up, and they sometimes talked to each other, got up for concessions a couple times, or just generally acted a distraction, but I don’t think they affected my enjoyment of the movie that much.
One night in 1965, Kathy (Jodie Comer) comes to a biker bar to give a girlfriend a little money. There she spots the young, brooding Benny (Austin Butler), and while she does have a husband at home, she finds a sense of freedom when Benny takes out for a ride on his motorcycle. Benny is a member of the Vandals Motorcycle Club out of Chicago, led by Johnny (Tom Hardy), a family man with a job who was inspired by Marlon Brando’s performance in The Wild One to start the club. Kathy and Benny are married themselves after a brief courtship (following Kathy’s first husband just leaving her when he sees Benny just sitting outside a little too long), and it isn’t long before Kathy is seeing life inside the club where oddballs and weirdos like Club second Brucie (Damon Herriman), “pinko” hater Zipco (Michael Shannon), and enthusiastic big eater Cockroach (Emory Cohen) are among the men who mostly seem to want to have a good time, look tough, and occasionally break some traffic laws. Benny, as the Club’s hothead, seems to occasionally get into more trouble, but all that kid wants to do is ride his motorcycle. Meanwhile, photographer Danny Lyon (Mike Faist) is getting Kathy’s thoughts on the Club and its members.
Over time though, the Club changes. Johnny’s desire to make the Club look tough works arguably too well, and what started off as a Club where a fistfight for leadership would end with both participants shrugging it off gradually goes on to heavier stuff, particularly as the 60s start to wind down and younger members, some Vietnam vets and serious drug users, start to show up and make the Club something that is inherently unrecognizable from what it was in the beginning of the movie. Kathy wants Benny to quit, Johnny wants Benny to take over the Club, and Benny just wants to ride. Can any of these people get what they want, and what might it cost them?
First off, a quick note on accents: while some of the characters, Comer and Hardy in particular, sound a bit ridiculous, I have since learned that their accents are actually pretty darn authentic. Comer listened to recordings made by the real Kathy, and she actually nailed the accent. So, just keep that in mind if you opt to see the movie. But the other thing is would be that this is a more of a quiet character study of a movie than, say, some sort of action-packed crime thriller. To be clear, there are some moments of violence, many caused by Benny’s general bad temper, but that’s not what this movie is striving for. It’s really something else, so keep that in mind too.
And I thought it largely worked. There were moments when the movie reminded me a bit of Goodfellas, though Scorsese is a much better chronicler of the life of someone wanting the freedom to do whatever he wants, but I do think The Bikeriders does a much better job of aping Scorsese (if it is even trying to) than Todd Phllips did with Joker. I will say that, despite getting top male billing, I didn’t find Butler to be much of a presence here. His character doesn’t speak much and even disappears a couple times. As such, The Bikeriders is more Comer and Hardy’s movie, and both actors are fortunately up to the task. I may not know if The Bikeriders was intended as summer fare, but I will say that I don’t think it is quite good enough to win any big awards. It’s quite good. It just isn’t that good.
Grade: B+
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