'The Bikeriders' Chooses Violence Over Character Development
Jeff Nichols is a filmmaker with a lot of heart. He displays it with great empathy in Loving, a story about a mixed-race couple who didn't let racism defy their marriage. That kind of affection is something that I found missing in The Bikeriders. There are interesting characters. Tom Hardy's Johnny is a fascinating criminal who I wish I could know more about. I respect Nichol's intention for not going the usual sappy backstory route with its characters. They are simply who they are. Dirtbags. But they're dirtbags with heart. Some of them. The way bikeriders solve every conflict is through brutal violence. The movie doesn't judge or glorify them. It makes us see some partially rounded people who could have benefitted from some of that sentimentality Jeff Nichols was trying to avoid.
The Bikeriders is based on a novel by photographer Danny Lyon. Lyon follows the path of a powerful biker gang from the Midwest between the years of 1965 and 1973. I never read the book so I can only guess how it's structured. In the movie, the story is narrated by Kathy (Jodie Comer). Kathy is interviewed throughout the movie by an unnamed character. Seeing as this is based on a book by Danny Lyon, it's safe to assume it's him. Lyon walks around with a large sound recorder, capturing Kathy's words as she guides the structure of the story. When we first see Kathy, she enters a biker bar to meet up with her friend. Being a young, attractive woman in a bar, Kathy is harassed by almost every biker in there. Yet one biker manages to woo Kathy over.
And, of course, she'd be swept off her feet because that biker is played by the gorgeous Austin Butler. Butler plays Benny, an introverted man who has the toughness of an ox. Benny gives Kathy a ride home. But he doesn't stop there. Benny camps outside of Kathy's home despite the fact that she has a boyfriend. Luckily, their relationship is basically in the toilet anyway, allowing Benny to obtain Kathy. Within weeks the two get married, changing Kathy's life forever.
Kathy's a girl who's attracted to danger. She gets involved in the world of the bikeriders without being involved. She's a wife to a bikerider, but doesn't partake in their meetings or violence. For most of the film, she's a passive character who doesn't come across as someone who's very bright. Despite the fact that Benny is physically attractive, why would anyone stick around with a man like that? Benny constantly gets in fights, winds up in jail, and breaks whatever law he can. A real standup guy. In real life, Kathy did stick with Benny or, I'd assume, by the film's end credit pictures showing the real people the movie's based on. Kathy ends up becoming an active character later in the film. Without giving much away, the lifestyle of the biker gang doesn't groove well with Kathy. And why would it? These people are animals.
Jeff Nichols doesn't shy away from how mindlessly brutal bikers are. Johnny is the leader of the bikeriders. He's an even-tempered man who exercises his violence with thought. To claim territory, Johnny challenges others to do a duel. He asks "fists or knives?" One results in a trip to the hospital, the other in death. Tom Hardy is the real star of this show. His performance as Johnny draws you in as he softly speaks to others. Like most actors from across the sea, it's impressive to know that Hardy is British if you've just seen him in this film. That's not to say his performance doesn't have its flaws. Hardy's accent, in particular, sounds like a slapped-together midwestern accent with the voice of Eddie Brock, AKA Venom.
Austin Butler is a very reserved character who hardly speaks. When he does, it's Butler just using his own voice. No Elvis or Feyd-Rautha trickery here. His performance is mostly through his stoicness. When threatened with violence at the beginning of the picture, Benny doesn't flinch. Benny is a character who bottles up his emotions so he can be a strong second in command to Johnny. The performance doesn't require a lot of emotion. When Butler does have to emote, he's not as believable as he should be, particularly in his heartfelt ending. Then there's Jodie Comer who's trying to do some kind of Chicago accent that almost sounds like Sarah Palin.
Despite some mixed performances, there are some fascinating characters here. You can tell Benny went through some kind of traumatic experience that made him decide to join a biker gang. Johnny is like the Godfather of the gang. He carefully listens to everyone's problems while calmly coming up with a solution. Ironically, most of those solutions involve mayhem.
Unfortunately, the characters aren't dived into deep enough. I want to know why Johnny is the way he is. What made Benny want to ditch normal society? Most of these questions are left in the dust as the film goes from one fight scene to another. The Bikeriders is more about rival gangs beating each other up than it is in examining its characters. Even worse, there are a lot of characters who just seem like one-dimensional hooligans. Zipco (Michael Shannon), for instance, seems more like a punchline than a character. He's so dumb in his philosophy of education that it made me chuckle when I didn't know if I was supposed to be amused.
The film's middle act, in particular, drags on like a continuous fight scene. A biker gang either wants to steal Johnny's turf or join him. Whichever they want, the result winds up in a bloody, knuckled, knives-out brawl. The film gets so wrapped up in its bouts that it forgets to focus on what makes its characters tick. They're captivating characters who aren't given a lot of backstory or purpose in their drive. That's a shame, as this is a story about America's outcasts who find no purpose in their life outside of being part of a biker club. The psychology of the misfits is missing in a story that could have used more introspection instead of violence.
