"The Bikeriders": A Report Turned Film
On June 20th, the film "The Bikeriders" was released internationally, marking the latest work by 45-year-old director Jeff Nichols, one of the most intriguing young filmmakers in the United States. Here’s why you should watch his new film.
The much-anticipated film "The Bikeriders" (Jeff Nichols’ previous film, "Loving," was released back in 2016) tells the story of the motorcycle club "The Vandals," founded in 1960s Chicago by a truck driver named Johnny, portrayed by British actor Tom Hardy ("Mad Max: Fury Road").
Johnny is inspired by Hollywood's first biker film, "The Wild One," starring Marlon Brando. Brando’s romantic image has since become iconic in pop culture, setting a trend for many followers: a Harley Davidson bike, a leather jacket, a cap, heeled boots, and a rebellious attitude. Throughout the film, we see Johnny’s creation spiral out of control over ten years, expanding uncontrollably with increasingly reckless members and ultimately leading to his own downfall. Thus, a carefree group of romantics on motorcycles transforms into a gang of ruthless criminals.
Film critics compare "The Bikeriders" to Martin Scorsese’s classic gangster film "Goodfellas," the story of the rise and fall of a small-time mobster set in the 1970s. This comparison arises primarily from the retrospective storytelling style—Benny’s story, the right-hand man of the biker gang leader, is narrated to a journalist by the protagonist’s wife, played by Jodie Comer ("The Last Duel"). Much like in "Goodfellas," we see the hero and his male-dominated circle through the eyes of a loving woman, making it hard for the audience not to fall for the bikers, despite their repulsive brutality, just as we do with Scorsese’s gangsters.
The lead role of Benny is played by Austin Butler, who gained fame for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in a recent biopic. Other roles are filled by Jeff Nichols’ regular talisman actor Michael Shannon ("Boardwalk Empire"), "The Walking Dead" star Norman Reedus, Boyd Holbrook ("Narcos"), and Australian actor Damon Herriman, who has twice portrayed the legendary maniac Charles Manson—once in David Fincher’s series "Mindhunter" and again in Quentin Tarantino’s film "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."
The Carefree Riders
Jeff Nichols has brought to the big screen the famous American photographer Danny Lyon’s album "The Bikeriders," portrayed by Mike Faist ("West Side Story"). Years before Hunter S. Thompson, author of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," spent a year with the "Hell's Angels" club members and wrote a book about it, Lyon rode American roads with another legendary biker club, "The Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club." He spent four years with the bikers, from 1963 to 1967, documenting the everyday life of the "Chicago Outlaws"—their gatherings, rides, drunken parties with inevitable brawls, and even dramatic events like the funeral of a club member who died in a crash.
Published in 1968, the book became a bestseller, boosted by the release of the legendary biker film "Easy Rider," which turned the then-unknown Jack Nicholson into a star. The film created a romantic aura around bikers, making them contemporary counterculture heroes, who, like the beatniks of the 1950s, were searching for the meaning of life and the elusive American dream, as depicted in Jack Kerouac’s cult book "On the Road." Naturally, the phenomenon of "Easy Rider" is referenced in Nichols’ film.
"The Bikeriders" has undergone several reprints, and Danny Lyon became a star of reportage photography, releasing the book "Conversations with the Dead" (1971) about the lives of Texas prisoners, and in the 1990s, creating a series of Polaroid photos about Native Americans.
Essentially, Jeff Nichols’ "The Bikeriders" is an adaptation of Danny Lyon’s photographs, meticulously recreating the era’s spirit captured in the book. This is likely the second instance in history of such an adaptation—following Tim Burton’s "Mars Attacks!," a film adaptation of a series of themed trading cards (excluding Fellini’s classic "Casanova," which the great Italian director joked was an adaptation of the famous playboy’s phonebook).
Other Must-Watch Films by Jeff Nichols
"Take Shelter": A thriller about paranoia, constantly playing on viewers' expectations, tells the story of a simple American family somewhere in the South. The family’s father, a laborer with the face of actor Michael Shannon, tormented by nightmares about the apocalypse, begins building a shelter in his backyard to save his loved ones from an impending catastrophe. Whether this is merely the delusion of a man suffering from hereditary schizophrenia remains unknown until the stunning finale.
"Midnight Special": In his first major studio film, Nichols claims to have played in Steven Spielberg’s field. As always with Nichols, a fantastic or criminal plot dissolves into the drama of ordinary people's relationships, in this case, a father (once again Michael Shannon) and his son, who possesses paranormal abilities. They must hide across the country from a totalitarian cult, police, and government agents until the unpredictable finale. The cast includes a constellation of actors: Joel Edgerton ("The Underground Railroad"), Kirsten Dunst ("Civil War"), and Adam Driver ("House of Gucci").
"Mud": According to Jeff Nichols, this film is where Mark Twain’s prose meets Sam Peckinpah’s Westerns—the director of brutal films about doomed loners. It’s a coming-of-age story on the Mississippi River: as always, the screen showcases stunningly beautiful Southern landscapes. Two teenagers (one of Tye Sheridan’s early roles, "Ready Player One") encounter the hero played by Matthew McConaughey ("The Gentlemen"), an outlaw who killed a man for the woman he loves, and decide to help him hide from justice. The legendary actor and playwright Sam Shepard also stars in one of the roles.