Indie filmmaker Jeff Nichols finally sees his 20-years-in-the-making dream – “The Bikeriders” – rumble into theaters on Friday, after idling for a bit due to studio hopping. The star-studded vehicle explores the romantic and sexy side of American masculinity, as well as its dark and dangerous underbelly, during the tumultuous ‘60s.
Nichols chronicles the rocky expansion of a small-time Chicago motorcycle club while observing a love triangle amongst three of its core members — hot-headed hunk Benny (Austin Butler), no-nonsense Kathy (Jodie Comer) who’s besotted with Benny, and repressed, reluctant club leader Johnny (Tom Hardy).
Nichols’ sixth feature was delayed from reaching theaters when it unexpectedly got dropped by one studio (20th Century Studios) and then picked up by another (Focus Features).
Nichols’ vision was fueled by Danny Lyon’s 1968 nostalgic photobook about the real-life Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club – a group Lyon belonged to. Twenty years ago, the 45-year-old director picked up a new edition that provided updates on the onetime key figures in the club. Lyon’s line about the “end of the golden age of motorcycles” especially stood out.
“Danny’s book really inspired this overarching trajectory: The idea that this club would go from a small regional social club and essentially metastasize into a larger gang over the course of the ‘60s,” Nichols said.
He fleshed out a premise by creating characters out of what he saw and read in Lyons’ book. The material was ripe for moviemaking.
“It was like walking into a room and the Christmas tree is not there, but all the ornaments are laid out on the ground,” he said. “And it’s like OK, well, we’ve got to pick those up. We’ve got to find something to hang those on.”
“Bikeriders” hangs its narrative on the evolution of the fictional Chicago-area Vandals motorcycle club as it expands over a decade, a development that leads its members down a darker path.
Nichols wanted creative flexibility to tell the story so he swerved from making an outright documentary about the Chicago Outlaws.
“I’m kind of intimidated by them,” he admits. “And probably more importantly I don’t want to be beholden to their story.”
So as he reflected on passages from Lyon’s book and looked at the cache of photos that informed the mood and details for his film, a story emerged that allowed him to play around with archetypes. He upped the dramatic tension by having two lead characters — the Marlon Brando admirer Johnny and the honest and outspoken Kathy — get wrapped up with the enigmatic, impossibly handsome loner Johnny.
The film is full of juicy roles and an A-list cast was assembled to play them. The top-tier talent extended to secondary roles with Nichols’ regular Michael Shannon landing the part of Zipco, a biker booted from serving in Vietnam. He has one of the film’s best monologues about that.
Nichols heaps praise on his cast and says his beloved crew are like family and friends to him since they’ve been on his team through much of his career, which launched in 2007 with “Shotgun Stories” (starring Shannon). Other Nichols films include 2016’s “Loving,” 2011’s “Take Shelter” and 2012’s “Mud” with Matthew McConaughey.
Butler signed up first for “Bikeriders” and he got cast before “Elvis” came out. Nichols saw the Anaheim native in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” and knew in an instant after meeting him that he was born to play Benny. He also realized he was in the presence of a movie star.
“The movie stars are something different,” Nichols said. “You know when Brad Pitt walks into a room, the temperature changes, and not just because of now — I would argue it probably happened going back to ‘Thelma and Louise.’ And that’s how Austin was. If he walked into this room right now there would be a temperature change.”
To prepare for the role, Butler — who said he began riding around with his dad when he was 15 — revisited biker-themed classics, including 1953’s “The Wild One” with Brando (referenced in the film) and 1969’s “Easy Rider” (also referenced). But he credits motorcycle stunt coordinator Jeff Milburn — “most of the bikes in the film are his personal bikes,” he notes — for pointing him toward a movie he absolutely loved and repeat-watched, 1981’s “the Loveless,” with Willem Dafoe.
“I watched it over and over because Willem Dafoe is the coolest guy ever on a motorcycle,” he declares.
But riding with his dad proved to be a far different experience than riding a 1965 Harley in “The Bikeriders.”
“Each (bike) has their own personality,” Butler said, “and it feels like you’re trying to stop a freight train when you’re pressing the brakes.”
Butler commends “The Bikeriders” for capturing a nuanced view of masculinity as well as the “unspoken love” that Benny has for Kathy and, in turn, Benny has for Johnny. Given the time period, it wasn’t a more “open-hearted masculine love,” he said.
He also points to how Nichols’ film reflects “themes of not wanting to be tethered, wanting to be free, wanting to be like a wild stallion that can roam free. And that’s one of the fascinating things for me about Benny.”
In casting for the role of Kathy, Nichols knew he wanted Comer after being wowed by her Tony-winning performance onstage in “Prima Facie.” He caught the show in London while he was talking to Hardy about playing Johnny.
“I just walked out (of the theater) like I’m the luckiest director in the world,” he said, adding the “Killing Eve” star is one of the greatest actresses he’s ever worked with.
“I really can’t say enough about her,” he said. He also admired Comer for always respecting who the working-class Kathy was as well as where she came from.
“I think sometimes people look at characters, especially from this socioeconomic level and they just can’t help but look down on them. And Jodie never did. “
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Comer’s Kathy plays a critical role in the film, as the film’s narrator. It’s a decision that gives “The Bikeriders” more dimension, depth, even humor, and presents a female perspective in a male-dominated realm.
Comer sees Kathy growing to understand that many of the men in the club are simply playing a role rather than being genuine about themselves.
“She’s enticed by it all, but then over time, sees how a lot of them are very much playing a role, or aren’t being honest or sharing (about) how they truly feel and actually the damage that is causing,” she said.
Comer really responded to her character’s entertaining gift for storytelling since “my Nan would tell you the same story six times.”
“(Kathy’s) an interesting choice (as narrator) because she’s the only woman so she has a very different perspective,” she said. “But it definitely felt like Danny (played by Mike Faist of “Challengers” and is interviewing Vandals members) was the first person who asked her what she thought and it felt like she kind of bottled all this stuff over time and she was ready to go.
“It did definitely feel like she was probably the most reliable and honest because she just sees things from a different view.”
A wise decision that puts Kathy in the driver’s seat as she navigates the the sometimes appealing, sometimes threatening machismo that surrounds her.
Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.