MOVIE NEWS – Jeff Nichols’ latest film, The Bikeriders. With Austin Butler (Elvis – Oscar nomination), Jodie Comer (Battle of the Obsessed) and Tom Hardy (The Revenant – Oscar nomination), the production shows the American motorcycle culture of the sixties from the inside.

The director-screenwriter was inspired by an authentic reportage book: Danny Lyon was himself a biker in the late sixties and photographed and interviewed the three years he spent in the saddle. Moreover, he also recorded interviews with the bikers, which served as an important source of inspiration for the actors. The plot of the film follows the story of a fictional but painfully authentic gang, the Vandals, from their innocent beginnings until the bikers become a dangerous criminal gang.

„It all started with the fact that the s guys basically just wanted to ride motorbikes, drink well and f*ck girls – he summarized Butler gist of the story to ScreenRant. – They were outsiders because they couldn’t fit into society, some of them didn’t even want to, so they created a community for themselves, a kind of family, where they could feel that they belonged together and could count on each other in everything. Over time, however, they slowly got used to taking drugs, the Vietnam war was going on, and a lot of trauma filtered through from there, and then the young people came, the new pack, who radically transformed this subculture. In the end, the violence permeated everything and ate them up from the inside.”

Meanwhile, it was leaked that Tom, who plays the leader of the Vandals Hardy‘s particular artistic approach was not to everyone’s liking on the set. Hardy believer of method acting, the essence of which is that the actor completely transforms into the character, and they don’t turn back into civilians when they’re not on camera. For this reason, for example, Hardytwas not allowed to be addressed during the filming, nor even looked at it was forbidden. This particularly struck a chord with Danny Lyon, the author of the reportage book on which the film is based, who visited the set specifically to meet the famous actor who plays him in his youth. However, the meeting did not work out. “They were scared and said that I can’t look at him – Lyon wrote about his experiences. – I ask how not. He doesn’t like it. So I had to hide behind a tree and watch what he was doing. At least he could have waved. Well, another one!”

(The Bikeriders – domestic presentation: June 20, 2024.)