Jodie Comer’s Moment: The Bikeriders
Not the story being trailered or postered. Rather than a re-run of The Wild Ones, this is a woman’s eye-view in a documentary-style of what it was like to be around a biker club/gang. Whilst you’d never know it, this is, ultimately, Jodie Comer’s character’s story and narrative, not any of the men’s. Which highlights (once again) the ongoing sexism of the movie industry — we’re not ready for a biker movie led by a woman’s voice?
I wasn’t going to watch this originally, as it looked super violent and gangster-ish in the trailer. Mark Kermode (as ever) convinced me that it was something different — and I gave it a go. Glad I did.
We cut between the present day (around the 1970’s) and the time of the club/gang — 1960’s-1970’s. It’s also based on the photo-book by Danny Lyon, a photographer and wanna-be cultural commentator who hangs around the group, photographing and interviewing. Most of what we see is through female eyes and viewpoint as Jodie Comer’s Kathy Bauer is the protagonist and main narrator, and in the form of interviews with Danny Lyon (Mike Faist, who uncannily look like Dexter Fletcher to me).
We follow Kathy into a bar to meet her friend who needs some cash — urgently. Kathy then immediately wants to get out of there — and so do we. It’s male-centric, very poorly lit, they’re dressed in outlandish ways and all keep eyeing her. It’s a bit like Blind Date for bikers — one after another they come up to try and get a date — turns out all they want to do is go out for a bike ride, after pawing Kathy’s very white jeans as she leaves. She also encounters their leader Johnny (Tom Hardy) who promises that she’ll be safe — which makes her feel even more unsafe. Ching — Kathy clocks beautiful Benny (Austin Butler) at the pool table and after being stalked on the street by the entire gang, decides she would very much like a bike ride after only.
Only then he won’t leave, parked up outside her home. Which her boyfriend doesn’t appreciate — and leaves. Allowing Benny to move in and quickly they’re married.
Though foolishly promoted as a stabby, fighty blokey bike drama around Butler in his Elvis era again. it’s actually a much deeper socio-cultural work about cultural shift, inter-generational conflict and inheritance. And what it means to be a woman in the midst of all of this.
The biker gang — here the Vandals MC, in the real-life book the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Real life characters from the book (and indeed the real world) are portrayed in the film. The club was started by Johnny as a motorbike racing club — and he is the law. Not sure how Benny got into it — but he and Johnny are part father and son, part Frankenstein and his. creature. Maybe Johnny wants to be Benny too. Benny certainly feels super protective of Johnny — charging into a reasoned chat with violence.
There is a brotherhood, almost blood brother, bond to the club which includes women, but also excludes them. Kathy really feels this and challenges Johnny about it — he can’t own her husband, tho he’s having a really good go.
We meet a whole host of characters, some with partners. Damon Herriman as Brucie and Boyd Holbrook as Cal form Johnny’s right-hand men. Though this is meant to be a local club of friends, over time others want to join or form similar clubs associated with the Chicago original elsewhere. We see Johnny’s reaction to it — his manipulation of his power and leadership through challenges (mostly ideas/suggestions at this stage) which lead to violent stand-offs, mean fighting and Johnny being seen to be in charge of the ideas department.
Overtime the club becomes more of a gang and it’s symbols are resented in some quarters. Benny is horribly beaten up in a bar for refusing to remove his jacket, almost losing his foot, Johnny and his boys turn up outside revving and shaking the ground. They calmly collect the names of the culprits and then burn the owner’s business to the ground, before pursuing the men in what felt very paramilitary ‘Troubles-style’ tactics. Bursting into someone’s home and shooting them in retribution. It also made me wonder why, in amongst the hints of On The Road and Kerouac, so many Americans were interested in forming groups to take the law into their own hands to burn things down, kill and maim. As they let the bartender live and destroyed their business, intimidating the fires service into staying back, the flames also made me think of Ku Klux Klan activities.
Meanwhile there is trouble inside the gang itself. A group of car stealing youth seeing the gang throb through their area and feel the need for speed. When they try to join, Johnny tests them — only one can join, not his friends. Eager to join, he ditches his friends and fails to learn the lesson — the club is about friendship first and foremost, he failed the test. Sent away, he will return, Shakespeare-style to challenge Johnny later. It’s also very Arthur Miller with its repeated focus on fathers and sons (even surrogate ones) and generational relationships and misunderstandings.
Vulnerability is another issue explored by the movie — of women, their bodies and of the bikeriders themselves. When we meet outside in the muddy camp, there are several women present, mostly partners. Later, as the gang grows in size, it starts to split between dope smokers and beer drinkers, and there are fewer women. One bikerider dreams of being a traffic cop (purely for being paid to ride a bike, very CHIPS) and is beaten up badly by two other gang members, who really object to this idea from one of their own.
At a house party, a young woman dances groovily in a red dress — admired by Kathy. The gang give her the dress, which makes us (and Kathy) worry about what’s happened to the wearer/owner. When she puts it on, it leads to a nightmare situation. Moving from eyeing, newer gang members physically grab her and en masse try to drag her upstairs — to rape her. Johnny isn’t around and neither is Benny — no-one is around to help or intervene. We absolutely feel the horror of Kathy’s situation and fight back as we all know what’s coming. Thankfully Kathy’s screams for help do summon Johnny, just in time. This leads us to wonder how willing the original red dress owner was. Her potential rapists claim this was just a misunderstanding as they’d been told of a woman in a red dress who was willing to do anything with whoever — and why is everyone making such a fuss? In a ghoulishly inappropriate moment, Johnny then asks Kathy if ‘she’s alright?’ Ofcourse she’s not — we know it, they know it, he knows it. She’s just been hanging onto walls and door frames in a desperate bid to stop herself being dragged upstairs by a group of men against her will.
Ultimately this leads Kathy into conflict and opposition with Johnny and the Vandals MC. She asks Benny to lose his colours (the gang leather jacket) and give up membership of the group. He can’t or won’t do this, and threatens to leave Kathy so she won’t have to look after him, and he won’t be forced into difficult choices. Benny takes off — what we don’t see (though it’s hinted at) is that there are children involved here too, they have a family!*
It’s intriguing how Kathy’s voice being used or shut down is the theme throughout. She starts by using her voice to declare the bikers crazy and tell them to go away. She carries on in this theme when Benny parks up outside her home. Having already questioned Johnny about why she needs to feel safe, she returns to this theme in the attempted rape later on. Forcing Johnny to speak to her privately, Johnny shuts her down with an ‘are you done?’ and dismisses her, but Kathy roars back ‘ you don’t own him [Benny]’. Ultimately it’s Kathy’s point of view and opinions which end the film — she has, in a sense, won.
Interwoven with all of this is the story of the bikers themselves. From the Latvian who has a brother who’s always better at everything, who speaks in rants rather than words, loathes the college educated and who dreams of being sent to the Vietnam War! to the biker who responds to parental home aggression with aggression and is thrown out of his home. Then there’s Brucie’s tragic accident, his family’s refusal to accept Johnny’s flowers or ceremonial memorial arch of bikers. Brucie’s parents are clearly furious at the bikers, blaming them for Brucie’s death. It’s hard on Johnny as in his own way, he tries to do the right thing.
There’s also elements of class as the bikers (whilst being outsiders) mostly have jobs and in many cases respectability — one does go on to become a traffic cop. But their choices are determined by the club/gang — from the beginning Johnny has established their bar as a one stop shop for information, advice and guidance. More family than family, almost a kind of marriage!
Alongside are the cultural shifts apparent as the gang grows — and grows younger. From being outsiders, we’re now in to full turn on, tune in drop out mode and the lure of the road is powerful. Although at the same time it brings its own changes. The young wannabe biker returns and challenges Johnny, who thinks he will deal with this as he has with every other challenger before, through ‘ fists or knives’.
In a sad moment, Johnny leaves (almost foreshadowing what will happen next) feeling ignored and alone, his wife mesmerised by a TV show and giving him a ‘to do list’ as he exits. By the end, the older bikers are taking their cars rather than their bikes! The wannabe new leader has a new twist on fists or knives which leads to a Hamlet moment, big changes in the gang, and its activities, as well as Benny and Kathy’s relationship.
Jeff Nichols and Adam Stone have created a powerful looking film which celebrates both the rumble of bikes and the joy of speed, (Benny roars away from pursuing police joyfully free at one point — until the gas runs out). Bikers wax lyrical about the type of bikes they have and number their parts, like reciting poems. Most importantly, we get to see Danny Lyon’s real photos at the end. The soundtrack is terrific too as it takes us through the times from rockabilly to poppy love songs and is used pertinently throughout, enhancing scenes.
Restore Kathy to the publicity and promotions as this is her movie. However, it’s great to see Tom Hardy giving such a wonderfully complex performance as the plot take Arthur Miller-ish twists and turns. Aust Butler gives a very reigned in performance as Benny, who in many senses remains an enigma. At the same time, this is very much an ensemble piece and his nuanced, controlled performance adds to a really good movie.
Don’t believe the promos and posters — go and see this movie for what it really is!
*https://screenrant.com/the-bikeriders-kathy-detail-cut-director-nichols-regret/
Enjoyed reading this article?! Support my writing at: https://ko-fi.com/susanadventuresinculture
