Okay so we have a movie based on a true story. We have Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, motorbikes, cool music and an interesting exploration of love. You had me at Tom Hardy. Do not miss The Bikeriders movie.
Based on a well-known photo book by Danny Lyon, The Bikeriders movie tells the story of a fictional 1960’s Chicago motorcycle club, the Vandals.
The story is told through the eyes of Kathy (Jodie Comer), a young woman who simply enters a bar to catch up with a friend. That bar happens to be full of men who love nothing more than wearing leather and riding motorbikes.
The group has come together thanks to their charismatic leader Johnny (Tom Hardy), a family man who loves racing motorbikes. One night he’s at home watching Marlon Brando in The Wild Ones and he’s enthralled. An idea starts to form as he quietly tries to mimic Brando’s cool drawl.
The group is well underway when Kathy enters the bar and spies free spirit Benny (Austin Butler). Weeks later she marries him.
As the months go on she tries to understand the attraction of the group, like why a group of men “who can’t follow rules”, come together and “set up all these rules”.
The movie provides a front row seat on how the club evolves over the next ten years and not all of it is good. Kathys’ concerns start to grow until an ultimatum is made. Who does Benny love the most, motorbikes, the Club, Johnny or her? As Johnny points out, you can give your all to a thing, but that thing is going to do what it wants to do.
As the leather clad audience wandered out I pondered:
- All three leads were utterly believable which is all you want from an actor. We were soon rooting for all three characters. Butler smolders with James Dean intensity and more than holds his own against Hardy. For Killing Eve fans, Comer does yet another brilliant accent. Hardy, well we know is penchant for accent work, but this time he adds another level, playing a man who’s impersonating Brando, which is interesting as in real life Hardy was likened to the great actor in his younger years. Hopefully the critics realize this extra dimension;
- What a delight it is to watch a movie that’s shot on location rather than green screen and with film;
- There’s one particular scene that I can’t wait to watch again, it’s a masterclass in acting. The audience was pin drop quiet wondering what they were watching and where the intensity was taking them. I read that while the words said were written down, the director had no idea where Hardy was talking the action. Similarly, the steady Cam holder filing the scene was concerned that Hardy had stepped out of the light, but at the last moment he titled his head to get a slither of shine on his face. Thank you Mr Hardy;
- Another scene had the audience yelling out as one, which is rare these days;
- The movie was different to what I thought it would be, the interview style an interesting and less seen approach;
- Thanks to Luna Cinemas and Harley Davidson Perth for an excellent preview night.
For more information go to Luna Cinemas.
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