Many say that this was also the perfect storm that helped to reinforce the toxic male energy that has blighted our society in the decades since. While this may be an oversimplification, it has had an undeniable impact on male behaviour since. As in all things that are created in an environment of excess energies, these clubs even though they started with the best of intentions became corrupted and changed to suit certain individual needs or desires.

In this context, the allure of criminality doesn’t seem so far-fetched and nowhere was this better exemplified than in biker clubs. The Bikeriders tells the tale of one such club that started simply but eventually ran completely off the rails. The key performances in the film by Austin Butler and Tom Hardy are underplayed to the point of narcolepsy and seem an attempt by the filmmakers not to fall guilty of ramping things up to the soap opera level of shows like The Sons Of Anarchy.

Driven by actor Jodie Comer’s narration (one that could rival Frances McDormand’s vocal heroics in Fargo), what starts as a brotherhood is doomed to be consumed by vice and greed. The level of understatement used to tell the tale makes the violence pop but leaves the audience under-informed as the almost complete lack of back story hinders true understanding. Historical context helps but it all falls short of providing the jolt needed to make this work a transformative experience.
Rob Hudson
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After a chance encounter at a local bar, strong-willed Kathy (Jodie Comer) is inextricably drawn to Benny (Austin Butler), the newest member of Midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals led by the enigmatic Johnny (Tom Hardy).

Much like the country around it, the club begins to evolve, transforming from a gathering place for local outsiders into a dangerous underworld of violence, forcing Benny to choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club.
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Seen through the lives of its members, the club evolves over the course of a decade from a gathering place for local outsiders into a more sinister gang, threatening the original group’s unique way of life.

Starring Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, and Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Mike Faist, with Norman Reedus is coming to cinemas July 4!
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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 cast, most of whom did their own riding on an array of period-correct bikes, includes Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve,” “The Last Duel”), Austin Butler (“Elvis”) Tom Hardy (“Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Revenant”), Michael Shannon (“Bullet Train”), Mike Faist (“West Side Story”), Boyd Holbrook (“Logan”) and Norman Reedus (“The Walking Dead”). From writer-director Jeff Nichols (“Loving,” “Midnight Special,” “Mud”), 20th Century Studios and New Regency, “The Bikeriders” is a furious drama following the rise of a fictional 1960s Midwestern motorcycle club through the lives of its members.
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