The one winning constant about a Jeff Nichols film is that heart and intimacy go hand in hand in layering and adding character depth. But unlike the breathtaking brilliance of Loving, The Bikeriders sadly fumbles. While the film starts with a riveting premise (based on true events but not a true story), the middle makes questionable decisions to hold our attention. It loses the significance of time by jumping back and forth, causing the narrative to stretch out far too much before picking back up in the end.
Starring Austen Butler, Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, Mike Faist, Norman Reedus, Michael Shannon, Boyd Holbrook, Toby Wallace, Damon Herriman, David Myers Gregory, and more, the characterizations all feel lived-in and riveting. Yet, the imbalance with screen time doesn’t quite work in telling an intimate story. For a character who’s on the face of the poster, it’s surprising to see how limited Butler’s role is. He barely talks at times, and though Butler is a compelling enough performer to still tell us plenty in the silence, it’s still jarring when much of what we know about him comes from Comer’s Kathy. Thus, unfortunately, there’s a lot more telling in the film that takes away from what we should be seeing.
In a myriad of ways, it’s understandable why the film pans out this way. Danny Lyon’s documentary matters—we need to hear the conversations that will later shape the actual novel. Yet, more clarity in the timeline would’ve allowed the film to become more nuanced because so much relies on the actors to convey what the screenplay should also be presenting us with. The film isn’t long enough to sustain quiet conversations, yet at the same time, because it relies so much on past storytelling, it feels much lengthier than it is.
The Bikeriders is held together largely by Nichols’ ability to convey raw and intimate scenes, making some of the moments throughout the film feel like we’re invading the space as viewers. It’s in those moments where the vision shines best and in those beats where the actors bring some of their finest work. As mentioned previously, Butler is fantastic, but Jodie Comer carries the film throughout with the amount of history she establishes with each of her characters’ conversations with Mike Faist’s Danny.
Even with his limited screen time, Faist communicates a plethora of emotions to showcase the work he’s putting in to understand the importance of documentation. Every look matters, and he tells the audience a great deal through it. Tom Hardy also brings impeccable performances to our screen, making it relatively simple to understand the story’s stakes where we’re on the outside looking in. The Bikeriders simply doesn’t nail the balance of these stakes.
Moreso, a large part of the problem with The Bikeriders is the absence of vulnerability when exploring an area that orbits around toxic masculinity by default. The film gets there at the end when Butler’s character finally has a breakthrough, yet while it feels earned to see it after the number of times his wife states that he’s emotionless, it doesn’t pack as great of a punch as it should. We come close to exploring these moments, almost touching them through different characters then we back away. Benny’s loyalty is unclear, as are his motives a lot of times, so even while Butler is exceptional, we’re still missing a good chunk of the depth necessary to care about what we’re deconstructing.
While The Bikeriders provides intriguing backdrops and solid performances, it contains very little substance when exploring the character journeys it places centerfold. The film shines when their stories come to life through intimate forms of storytelling, but we never quite linger in those moments where we should be spending more time. Instead, we merely scratch the surface and then jump to another arc immediately afterward. It’s unfortunate because the potential is all laid bare for us to see, but the execution never reasonably allows the characters to take the driver’s—er, rider’s seat.
The film’s tone and cinematography do plenty to establish the period we’re thrust into, and they also certainly set the stage for what we know will come based on history. Still, they cater more to the plot than the characters here, too. It doesn’t leave much for us to care by the time we leave the theater.
The Bikeriders is now playing in theaters.
First Featured Image | Official Poster Credit: ©Focus Features