Jeff Nichols returns to directorial duties on a feature movie for the first time in eight years with the epic drama, The Bikeriders, and it follows the story of a headstrong woman called Kathy who strikes up a romantic relationship with a reckless member of a Midwestern motorcycle club in the 1960s. The movie was delayed for many months due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, but it was eventually released in theaters on June 21, 2024.
The Bikeriders features a stellar cast including Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy and Nichols' regular collaborator, Michael Shannon. The movie had a modest opening at the box office, with a global haul of $14 million in its first few days of release. However, nearly $1.5 million of the overseas gross came from the United Kingdom, which marks Nichols’ best opening from his widest release to date.
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What is The Bikeriders about?
The Bikeriders | |
|---|---|
Starring | Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Norman Reedus, Boyd Holbrook, Damon Herriman and Mike Faist |
Written By | Jeff Nichols |
Directed By | Jeff Nichols |
The Bikeriders is loosely based on a true story portrayed in Danny Lyon's picturebook of the same name, which charted his experiences while traveling with the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club for four years during the 1960s. The story is told from the perspective of a woman called Kathy (Jodie Comer) who falls for a renegade biker called Benny (Austin Butler) who is a member of the motorcycle club, The Vandals.
The movie charts the rise of the club under the leadership of Johnny (Tom Hardy), as he tries desperately to keep it based around an enthusiasm for motorcycles, while others try to challenge him to take the club down a much darker path into crime and violence. He is prepping Benny to take over the club after he departs, but he is not too enthusiastic about the prospect of being a leader.
Things take a drastic turn when Benny is beaten up badly by a couple of goons outside a bar, after he refuses to take his leather cut off his back, which leads Johnny to seek revenge by burning down the watering hole, and breaking the legs of Benny's attackers. Benny is left unable to walk properly, as Kathy gives him the ultimatum of choosing her or the motorcycle club he loves so much.
Johnny is pushing for Benny to run the club after growing tired of leading the Vandals, and envisions a day when he can no longer do it. Benny has a commanding presence and Johnny considers him the best person to lead the club, moving forward. However, Benny isn't interested in being a leader, as he's not ready to take that responsibility. Benny tells Johnny that he didn’t ask anything from anyone, and he expects the same. Benny ends up leaving Kathy and the club, and when Johnny visits Kathy, they both admit that neither of them got to have the reckless bike enthusiast.
How does The Bikeriders end?
Johnny receives a visit from The Kid (Toby Wallace) and his group at the club house, and he reveals that he and his group are now members of the Milwaukee chapter of The Vandals, after previously being rejected by Johnny due to his lack of loyalty to his friends. The Kid challenges Johnny to a fight for leadership of the group, and Johnny offers him the choice of fists or knives, for which The Kid chooses knives. They agree to meet at a parking lot to hash the issue out.
Johnny attends the meeting at the parking lot, and The Kid brandishes a gun and shoots and kills Johnny, and takes leadership of the motorcycle club, and turns it into a criminal gang, with the fight between the old and new members now settled. After Johnny's death, the rest of the original members of the motorcycle club either move away or join up with the new iteration of the Vandals.
It is revealed that The Kid killing Johnny was the catalyst to changing the philosophy of The Vandals forever. Johnny's vision for the motorcycle club was built on friendship and a shared passion for motorcycles. However, the new Vandals embrace violence, and kill people and begin trafficking drugs and weapons, alongside other criminal enterprises. The motorcycle club became one of the many typical gangs that made money from fear and crime.
Benny returns to Kathy after some time away, and sits on her doorstep as she comes out of her house to join him, as he bursts into tears over the death of Johnny. The movie ends with Benny and Kathy moving to Florida after the original Vandals motorcycle club has been torn apart. Kathy recounts the rest of her story to Danny (Mike Faist) in her kitchen, as she looks out at a smiling Benny, who is now working as a mechanic and free of the constraints of the club.
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