The Bikeriders looks like a dream come true for both Martin Scorsese and Sons of Anarchy fans, but the film did not have an easy-riding time on the way to a premiere date. Not too long ago, the film’s December date got scratched by Disney, but fortunately, Focus Features will release the film in Summer 2024, so we can see Tom Hardy doing his best Marlon Brando on a bike.
Austin Butler and Jodie Comer star as a young couple whose romance is complicated by his growing involvement in a motorcycle club, which of course starts out much more wholesome than it turns out, but that’s the outlaw life for ya. So many effortlessly cool dudes — Norman Reedus, Michael Shannon, Boyd Holbrook, and Damon Herriman — will pick up supporting biker roles. Reedus could do this role IRL in his sleep, no doubt, but how much of a true story is The Bikeriders itself?
It’s fair to say that, rather than being “based upon,” this is an “inspired” take that is based upon Danny Lyon’s iconic black-and-white photo book (for which he embedded with the the Chicago Outlaw Motorcycle Club in the 1960s) by the same name. The book is a celebrated, largely visual dive into this realm of counterculture, yet of course, dramatization occurred to bring a story into script form. In the film, the club becomes “the Vandals,” and here’s a synopsis about how the “good times” gave way to a more dangerous affair:
“The Bikeriders” immerses you in the look, feel, and sounds of the bare-knuckled, grease-covered subculture of ’60s motorcycle riders. Kathy (Comer), a strong-willed member of the Vandals who’s married to a wild, reckless bikerider named Benny (Butler), recounts the Vandals’ evolution over the course of a decade, beginning as a local club of outsiders united by good times, rumbling bikes, and respect for their strong, steady leader Johnny (Hardy). Over the years, Kathy tries her best to navigate her husband’s untamed nature and his allegiance to Johnny, with whom she feels she must compete for Benny’s attention. As life in the Vandals gets more dangerous, and the club threatens to become a more sinister gang, Kathy, Benny and Johnny are forced to make choices about their loyalty to the club and to each other.
The Bikeriders will (finally) arrive in theaters on June 21, 2024.
