There is a moment in Jeff Nichol’s ‘The Bikeriders’ where the intersection of a mob drama, love triangle, and old-fashioned western intertwine in the third act that opens one’s eyes to the breadth and silent ambition within ‘The Bikeriders’. Based on a collection of photographs from Danny Lyon’s eponymous collection from 1968, Nichols has managed to draw out a collection of photographs into a riveting, emotional, and tense drama that is thoroughly absorbing.
Nichols’s direction is validly subtle and nuanced, resting with our protagonists longer than most filmmakers would do. As a result, microexpressions appear and vanish on the faces of Butler, Hardy and Comer that will make you cough from laughing or sniffle from crying. For Butler, it is a true tour-de-force of his acting chops, showcasing his more elusive and abstruse abilities as he struggles with loyalties to Johnny and Kathy.
Comer shines our de-facto narrator in her two interviews with Mike Faist’s Danny Lyon (author of the book ‘The Bikeriders’ is based on) spaced out between eight years, whilst Hardy delivers his most devastating performance since 2015’s ‘The Revenant’, who pulls you in and out of love with The Vandals just as he does with Benny, echoing Marlon Brando’s performance in ‘The Wild Ones”. If Hardy is reminiscent of pre-Godfather Brando, then Butler must be the spitting image of James Dean, melting souls with his squinting gaze.
Nichols’s casual and simple direction enables the strength of the script to ebb and flow discreetly enough for the audience to enjoy the ride that The Vandals takes us on, which in turn means the truly shocking moments of the film will get your heart racing at unhealthy speeds. The plot, which is an extreme word to use with the storyline of the film, follows the rise and fall of The Vandal’s through Hardy’s leadership of the group over the course of a decade, with Vietnam veterans and aggressive youths changing the currents of the group.
Yet plot and storyline are irrelevant compared to the ambiance and attitude Nichols’s attempts to capture with ‘The Bikeriders’. The film’s ability to let its actors, ambiance, and setting breathe creates a penetrating yet lackadaisical-feeling pacing in a near Martin Scorsese-esque manner. Beautifully restrained, ‘The Bikeriders’ is one of the best films of the year, and is an awe-inspiring film.
UKFILMS 