The Bikeriders (2023)
Writer-director
Jeff Nichols takes a look at a Vietnam-era Midwestern bikers club in The
Bikeriders.
The film's
narrator is Kathy (Jodie Comer), a young Chicago woman who marries an enigmatic
biker Benny (Austin Butler) shortly after meeting him. Benny is part of the
Vandals, a motorcycle club run by laconic tough guy Johnny (Tom Hardy). Kathy
narrates the film over a series of interviews with journalist Danny (Mike
Faist). The problem with this device is that Kathy's not the main character and
telling the story almost entirely from her perspective keeps viewers at arm's
length from Benny and Johnny. Benny, in particular, is mostly a closed book to
the audience.
These flaws
would be easier to forgive if there was a propulsive story driving the film
forward. But the script is more a series of vignettes than a start-to-finish
story. At times, The Bikeriders feels like it wants to be a variation on
Goodfellas. While there are some similarities between the two movies and
Goodfellas (a better film) had its own flaws, it had a story that
gripped viewers by the collar for most of its runtime. The Bikeriders does
not. Also, many of the actors in The Bikeriders are not American.
Hardy's accent sounds a lot more like a New York accent than a Midwestern one.
Comer does a better job since she actually is attempting a Midwestern accent,
but it still doesn't quite sound right.
The
Bikeriders is never bad. There are some nice supporting turns from Boyd
Holbrook and Damon Herriman. Nichols also includes some striking visuals (a
nighttime shot of a phalanx of motorbikes cresting a bridge is a highlight). However,
it never really soars.
