Charting the story of the Vandals motorcycle gang between 1965-1973 as seen through the eyes of young lovers Kathy (Jodie Comer) and Benny (Austin Butler). 

Based on the book of the same name by photojournalist Danny Lyon (portrayed here by Mike Faist) The Bikeriders is a wonderful feature that reminded me of Goodfellas, Carlitos Way and of course Rebel Without A Cause and The Wild One. 

The film is told through the eyes of Kathy who is more than a little similar to the character of Karen in Goodfellas. When she meets a friend in a local bar one evening she never accounted for the fact that she would be whisked off her feet by heart throb gang member Benny. Marrying him five weeks later she finds herself part of the Vandals Bikeriders club. Of course she believes that she can change Benny but the reality is that she just falls into his world. The club itself was created because its founder Johnny (Tom Hardy) was watching The Wild One on television one evening and was inspired by Marlon Brando uttering the famous line, “What have you got?”. Beginning from good intentions it evolves into a beast. 

Writer/Director Jeff Nichols chooses to tell the story out of sequence hopping back and forth in his eight year timeline and the result is a phenomenal and engrossing story. The costumes, motorbikes and sets are so good that you can almost smell the Brylcream, cigarettes, alcohol and grease that seem to envelop every one of the authentic characters. 

And those characters are fascinating. Jodie Comer owns the film and for me this is her best ever performance. Portraying the sort of strong and determined woman that never expected to be in the position that she is, but is wholly determined to get what she needs from it. The comparison to Lorraine Bracco in Goodfellas is entirely favourable with both being powerhouse performances in a film full of men. Austin Butler who has already wowed us with his breakthrough performances in Elvis and Dune: Part Two here delivers another memorable role that is clearly inspired by the iconic James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause. Benny just wants to ride his bike and be part of something. And then there is Tom Hardy who is also impersonating an iconic performance. This time the aforementioned Marlon Brando in The Wild One. A man that created a gang that became more than he ever bargained for. 

Surrounding these powerful leads is a huge array of characters that resonate as archetypes in this biopic genre. Michael Shannon who regularly features for writer/director Nichols plays a gang member who hates “pinkos” and actually wanted to go to Vietnam but was turned down. Boyd Holbrook plays the mechanic of the group obsessed with the originality and personality of their chopper motorcycles. Norman Reedus plays a gang member from a rival group who decides he likes the Vandals enough he will stay with them. And the list goes on with an array of loyal characters and comedy screw ups. 

The result is superb. Jeff Nichols continues to deliver spectacular movies under the radar and this one sits alongside Take Shelter, Mud, Midnight Special and Loving as a gem to be discovered.