Director Jeff Nichols’ clear admiration for the work of photojournalist Danny Lyon and his 1968 book The Bikeriders that chronicles the lives of the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club, is evident in a new drama of the same name about a fictitious motorcycle gang called the Vandals. Nichols has teamed up once more with long-time collaborator and cinematographer Adam Stone to recreate the film-grainy look and feel of 1965’s Chicago by bringing Lyon’s black-and-white photos into full, colourful and vibrant life.
Katy (Killing Eve‘s Jodie Comer with a thick and rather amusing northwestern dialect that casts doubt on her casting) is the battle-worn and cynical narrator of the film, as she explains to the Danny Lyon character in the film (played by Mike Faist) how she first got into the gang, married the most eligible bikerider, Danny (Austin Butler in moody, Elvis-channelling mode), and eventually found herself forced into a ‘love triangle’ for Danny’s affections with gang leader Johnny (Tom Hardy) – who not only wants the younger, cooler rider to take over the helm, but also so that Johnny can ‘retire’ into the background as things get out of control.
The gang that also includes loyal original members Cal (Boyd Holbrook), Zipco (Michael Shannon) and bug-eating Cockroach (Emory Cohen) who all hang out at the designated clubhouse/bar when not riding free or going on family ‘picnics’ – which mostly consist of lots of beer drinking and scuffles with rival gangs before admiring their motors, as wives, girlfriends and children look on. There is a sense that what was once leisure-time membership for founder Johnny and co. has dangerously morphed into a full-time ‘mafia-style’ lifetime commitment.
Indeed, Hardy’s measured but muffled tone is strikingly similar to that of Marlon Brando’s Corleone in The Godfather. To have Johnny repeat his words is to signal imminent danger for the recipient. Hardy’s prowess for this kind of quietly menacing role is brilliantly exercised once more, though we do get glimmers of a tender and anxious ‘fatherly’ side to Johnny too, as the burden of being in charge grows heavier.
In telling the story from Katy’s point of view, Nichols ‘humanises’ and disarms his characters, giving each one greater depth than first expected of a testosterone-fuelled, biking affair. Granted, details of the members’ lives away from the road only come into play at key moments of the gang’s trajectory. However, Nichols still manages to make us ‘care’ about and empathise with them, and in turn, build clues as to how their personalities really tick when not in ‘gang mode’.
In fact, the only member who exists in his very own bubble and outside of real-life is Danny who is as dangerous, untamed and carefree as he is a mystery – as the opening scene and subsequent grizzly injury suggests. Danny is a character the others all aspire to be like but are also apprehensive to emulate fully. Butler is alluring to watch as he escapes his demons by riding free on the highway. For fans, this is award-winning Butler’s ultimate ‘bad boy’ role and another standout one not to miss.
Another really exciting performance to note is that of London-born actor Toby Wallace of The Royal Hotel LFF fame. Wallace does not fail to impress in this too, as wannabe Vandal ‘The Kid’. The juxtaposition between his detached attitude and that of Danny’s carefree one is fascinating to compare. The Kid’s challenge to Johnny’s leadership is a pivotal point of the film and the Vandals’ existence, born out of ingrained disrespect and distrust. We get a snapshot of the Kid’s cruel beginnings to know exactly where he is heading.
Nichols’ rebellious but romanticized film richly encapsulates a zeitgeist of by-gone male belonging and the lengths take to gain acceptance. We fondly witness every man’s journey in this, before the film rides down a far darker path, and the pleasurable ‘innocence’ of bike riding and socialising all but evaporates. Ironically, even though there is a craving for rules and structure throughout, the untenable grasp of freedom that drives Danny is what we are all left yearning for.
