The movie The Bikeriders (2023 or 2024?) are sketches from the life of Bikeriders with soundtrack of a random set of music of the 60s. Director Jeff Nichols, he is also an ideologist and a screenwriter, came up with a story, and then all these biker images were pulled up to it.
Austin Butler tries his best, but fails in his attempt, the eyes and facial expressions of such a beaten character should probably be different. And he’s too clean for a character like Benny. The consequences of the injuries inflicted on him in fights also look unnatural – in reality, he would have passed out after the incident with the shovel. Yes, and he would have been beaten up in theory so that he could not even talk for 2 weeks. That’s when he squints his eyes during a quarrel with Katie, that’s close, but still didn’t make it. Elvis would have done much better with such a role. Charlie Hunnam (Shantaram) in a similar role in “Sons of Anarchy” looked more natural.
Another thing is the character of Tom Hardy – he seems to be inhibited and frostbitten, not in the sense that he ate too much ice cream. Do you believe him, we really have the leader of Johnny’s gang in front of us.
This is the story of a housewife, actress Jodie Comer is believable, she seems to be lemon but cute. Gives out more emotions than Nancy Sinatra in Wild Angels. And she doesn’t need to make big surprised eyes, she already has them on half her face.
The rest of the guys-actors have repeatedly played such difficult guys with an interesting fate, so they are on the spot. And everyone smokes like steam locomotives. And they drink like horses. And they don’t care about anything. Sonny, Zipko, Cal – the real-life Bikeriders, played by Norman Reedus (Deuces Wild/a>), Michael Shannon (Runaways, Broadwalk Empire), Boyd Holbrook (Justice: City Primeval).
The film is inspired by a series of photographs by Danny Lyon The Bikeriders (1963-1967) – Danny took photos and recorded audio, communicating with the guys from Outlaws Motorcycle Club from Chicago. Jeff Nichols made a good movie about Vandals, a collective image of the motorcycle club of the 60s. He showed a gradual process when a motorcycle club from a community of interests turns into a rabid gang of motorcyclists, a criminal group outlaws 1%.
The pump don’t work cause the vandals took the handles.
I was only able to watch 35 minutes of the movie. It seemed to me that the actors were overdoing it, it was possible to play tough guys, but it was difficult to be tough guys. It feels like the actors were told, well, you’re like playing frostbitten fuckers, dumb as a cork, and they did it. But IT DOESN’T LOOK like the guys I saw in the short film based on the photos of those 1%. The photos are just cool! Technically, stylistically, and emotionally! The people in the photo are the coolest, the real ones! It’s an amazing movie. I would like to have the same cool photo book!
ps: But I liked the music in both films 🙂