By – Gareth Jones

For fans of Jeff Nichols, Tom Hardy, Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, and the history of Bikers in America

Jeff Nichols has now made six feature films, many focusing on stories in the South, his birthplace.  He is one of the finest Southern filmmakers working today and perhaps (time will tell) one of the best Southern filmmakers in cinema history.  He has explored race, violence, the environment, and much more in multiple genres.  In many of these he has worked with the great Chicago actor Micheal Shannon, who has served as a fitting voice for his stories.  Shannon cut his teeth in the theater of Chicago, and that city is the backdrop for Nichols latest film, The Bikeriders. Nichols has explored historical biopics before with Loving, but here he adapts a book of photography by Danny Lyon, noted New Journalism photographer who documented the civil rights movement as well as many other influential causes.  Lyon immersed himself in the Vandals Biker Club, even becoming a member for a few years.  He is played by Mike Faist (also seen in Challengers last year), and it is his interviews with Kathy Cross that provides the structure for the film.  Kathy is played by English actress Jodie Comer who hides her natural voice in a heavy Chicago/Midwest accent.  Much like other films based on real life figures, her narration and perspective are vital for the success of the film, reminiscent of Ray Liotta’s narration in Good Fellas. Her view of the group provides a needed balance between the attraction she had to Benny (Austin Butler’s enigmatic biker) whilst also being terrified of the lifestyle associated with the biker world.

The Vandals Biker Club is led by Johnny Davis, played with equal amounts of menace and charm by Tom Hardy, a natural for this role.  Initially, the club is a gathering and a creation of community for those on the margins.  The mysterious Benny is attracted to this and becomes a crucial part of the club. He will defend the “colors” of the club to his dying breath, something that comes close to happening multiple times throughout the film.  Benny is a combination of the cinematic cool biker, personified by Marlon Brando, but in the real world, you can’t just be cool. The club also attracts violence and chaos.  All of this is documented through Kathy’s interviews with Danny.  This trio of actors do a magnificent mob inhabiting the roles breathing life into what could just be caricatures. Each is given moments of depth for the audience to connect with these challenging figures.  Nichols does this deftly with the pacing and design of the film.  We see the evolution of the club into a gang with the influx of Vietnam veterans and with the end of the 60’s.  It showcases how the camaraderie and connection that was initially such an attractive part of the club descended into drugs, violence, and disloyalty.  It mirrors the image of the United States during that same time period.

The cinematography by Adam Stone continues a symbiotic relationship that he has had with Nichols since their first film Shotgun Stories. Stone has also worked with Craig Zobel, whose career has been in parallel to Nichols. Both explore the darker sides of America, historically and in genre work.  Michael Shannon also makes an appearance as Zipco, lost soul that moves through the club with a dazed but wise look that only Shannon could create.  Other highlights include Will Oldham as a bar owner, and Boyd Holbrook as Cal.  This is a nice bookend to his other performance from last year as Johnny Cash in A Complete Unknown.

The Bikeriders was released in the summer which may account for it not getting any Oscar attention.  This is a pity because Jeff Nichols continues to develop as an artist and his films continue to tell a story of America that is vital and engrossing.