Unseen Photos Uncover ’60s Biker Gangs’ Leather-Clad Cool Before It Fades Away!

In the mid-60s, famed photojournalist Danny Lyon immersed himself in the world of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club on the outskirts of Chicago, taking intimate photos and conducting interviews with the gang members. His work culminated in a photo book, “The Bikeriders,” published in 1968. This publication serves as the source of inspiration for film director Jeff Nichols’ latest movie of the same name, which explores American motorcycle culture and the origins of a distinct type of cool.

Nichols is evidently captivated by the unique style and compelling legend that Lyon’s photos depict, and he fills his cinematic representation of a Chicago-based motorcycle club — renamed the Vandals — with a cast of ruggedly attractive stars capable of making sideburns and motor oil appealing. This includes Tom Hardy, Austin Butler, Norman Reedus, Beau Knapp, Boyd Holbrook, Emory Cohen, and Damon Herriman. There are also some surprising and delightful casting choices like Karl Glusman and young Australian actor Toby Wallace, who delivers a fantastic performance as a prospective Vandals member.

The character Benny, played by Butler, exudes undeniable star power, and the film kick-starts with a bang — a bar fight that sees him getting hit on the back of his head with a shovel, an incident that reverberates throughout the rest of the film. With this impressive filmmaking move, Nichols exhibits a polished style and rhythmic musicality that immediately immerses us in this universe.

When we next encounter Benny, he’s dominating a pool table at a bar, his lengthy golden arms and disheveled blond mane attracting the lustful gaze of Kathy (Jodie Comer) who comes in for a drink and leaves with a lifelong partner. Nichols showcases Butler’s allure through the camera lens; every inch of worn denim and aged leather, every expressive lip curl and bloodied smile silently enticing Kathy towards the dark side. It’s no surprise Kathy’s boyfriend takes off the moment Benny shows up at their door, and it’s no surprise Kathy reshapes her life around her new sulky boyfriend and his gang of grime-covered outlaws.

Kathy serves as our narrator, her rapid Midwestern chatter adding a rhythmic layer to the roaring engines and mournful tunes of 60s rock ‘n’ roll in the background. In a fast-paced Chicago accent perfectly delivered by Liverpudlian actor and accent expert Comer, Kathy narrates tales about the boys to photographer Lyon (Mike Faist). She’s the attentive witness and guardian of their spoken history, even though the specifics may get lost, confused, or possibly exaggerated by our narrator. We see them through her perspective: appealing, grimy, violent, and often heartbreaking.

We also view them through recreations of Lyon’s photos, which Nichols and his regular cinematographer Adam Stone meticulously frame and animate. In a montage, we see Lyon taking portraits of characters like Cockroach (Cohen), Wahoo (Knapp), and Corky (Glusman), or capturing candid shots of the gang from the back of a bike. We see an image of a relaxed Benny riding over a bridge, casually signaling behind him. Nichols enhances Lyon’s shot by having our protagonist face the camera, rather than looking away.

Watching “The Bikeriders” feels like leafing through a photo album filled with striking images and story fragments, and Nichols’ screenplay also shares this snapshot-like quality. The film is a portrayal of character, location, and era, with a pace swinging between reflective and energetic, mirroring our central unusual pair, reticent Benny and garrulous Kathy.

While Kathy has a lot to say about Benny, we seldom see his distinctive traits in action. He’s somewhat underdeveloped, and even though Butler possesses the larger-than-life presence to embody the iconic image, Kathy dominates the script. Benny is reduced to a kind of symbol, a visual representation of the Vandals’ dangerous allure. Their initial attraction is clearly visible, but the bond that keeps them together through years of danger and revelry remains unseen. Benny, the inscrutable character, shares more chemistry with Johnny (Hardy), the Vandals founder and leader, and so does Kathy.

Hardy, as usual, delivers a fantastic and intriguingly odd performance, emerging as the central force not only of the Vandals but of the film itself. Johnny leads based on his own unique instinctual code grounded in whim and personal principles, which becomes more challenging to uphold as the club expands, with war veterans returning from Vietnam seeking companionship and bringing darker habits with them.

“The Bikeriders” is an enjoyable experience until the party ends and it’s time to hit the road. Although the narrative’s dramatic momentum doesn’t fully come together, the film is rich in emotion, and its rhythm mirrors both life itself and the inherently human nature of storytelling, as Kathy entertains us with stories of these wild characters, whose memories are now filled only with the echoes of roaring motorcycles.

Article critique by Katie Walsh, a film critic for Tribune News Service.