This review is part of Blitz’s continued coverage of the 71st Sydney Film Festival, 5-16 June. Read the rest of our reviews here.

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Going into the Sydney Film Festival, The Bikeriders caught my attention as a must-see film about a bunch of bad-ass, cold-blooded rebels fighting the system to re-assert their freedom and revive the redneck American liberty. As soon as I heard Austin Butler was going to be at the Australian premiere of the film, I could picture it. The film finishes. A powerful standing ovation from the audience gracefully transitions to the chants of U-S-A. Austin Butler, wearing the American flag, gets on his musty Harley Davidson and rides into the sunset. End scene. But that’s not what happened. It happened to be a cold, miserable night at the state theatre, and everyone left sluggishly with their heads down and tears in their eyes. I think this perfectly emanates what director Jeff Nichols envisioned when writing this film; a story that deceptively tugs at the heartstrings of its viewers, making them re-consider their lives and grapple with existentialism. 

Inspired by the book of photojournalist Danny Lyon, The Bikeriders follows the story of the biking club ‘The Vandals’ led by the boss Johnny (Tom Hardy) and anarchist Benny (Austin Butler). As their group evolves from a symbol of freedom into a vehicle for rebellion and crime, the narrative delves into the complex concepts of masculinity, belonging and, the American dream.  

Think of this film as a more straightforward, true American, light-hearted version of Fincher’s 1999 film Fight Club; A masculine club with strict rules with punishments for those who fail to adhere to them. Although The Bikeriders has two main characters like Fight Club, Johnny and Benny have almost a father/son dynamic that plays brilliantly on screen. Tom Hardy’s subtle, yet powerful performance really makes you consider the complexities of male bonding and how these relationships shape identity and loyalty within tight-knit communities. 

Astonishingly, the same cannot be said for Austin Butler’s performance. Even though I have the bias of actually watching the film with Austin Butler, I still feel that his performance was extremely one-dimensional and disappointing. He would hold the same mysterious, pouting, brooding, emotionless face, walk with his shoulders and drag his feet. I felt like his acting choices also reflected his character, as Benny would make unjustified, superficial decisions that weren’t hinted at throughout the story at all, limiting the film’s potential for emotional scenes.  

via Kristen Lopez

Traversing back to the positives, I was pleasantly surprised at how this film displayed its thematic concepts such as freedom. It essentially apologizes to the world for how bike gangs are perceived today and shows that they were originally created with the intent of providing societal leftovers and misfits a way to unite in their search for freedom under the same badge, rather than being a cogwheel of society’s boredom. 

A scene that really stuck out to me was when The Vandals and another biker gang were having a fistfight over seemingly nothing. Once they got tired of swinging, both gangs had beers together in a relaxing, light-hearted moment. It shows that the desire of bike gangs isn’t to fuel hate and cause trouble but to exercise their male curiosities, carefree. This scene (and many others) are testaments to how Nichols constructed this film in a jovial and comedic way, to the point where viewers at my screening burst out laughing, subverting one’s expectations for how a biker gang movie should look and juxtaposing the darker themes of the film.  

via IMDb

All good things must come to an end. The transformation of bike gangs was not intended but inevitable, with its focus shifting from living life and having fun to embodying real hate and rebellion. Over-zealous, loathing teenagers aspire to join the club. With their humility about as grown out as the bum fluff on their chins, they feed off the power that the club brings and trade it for arrogance. These values ultimately bleed through the club until it’s at its core, highlighting the origin of the negative stigma associated with biking gangs. 

This is reflected through the emotional delivery by Johnny in one of the final lines: 

“Give all you got into something, but it’s gonna do what it’s gonna do.” 

Thus, The Bikeriders is not only a film about masculinity, freedom, and belonging, but also about the evolution of counterculture and ambition and how you only realize how good a thing is when it’s over.  

Fists, knives, guns, or pitchforks- it doesn’t matter. This film is going to beat you up and make you laugh, cry and squirm. This is the first enjoyable biking film since Wild Hogs in 2007 and this group of truck drivers and army rejects will win your heart just as it did mine. Ride out.  

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Dylan Krsnik is a first-year student studying a double degree in Commerce and Media (Screen Production). He enjoys pina coladas and getting caught in the rain. He has also probably watched The Truman Show too many times, but who’s counting?  

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