Jeff Nichols finally returns with The motorcyclists
While he had followed one after another with the excellent science fiction drama Midnight special (2016) and the move Loving (2017), released in the United States just nine months later, Jeff Nichols he took a long time before signing his sixth feature film. Almost eight long years before returning with The motorcyclistswhich allows the director to talk again about the evolution of America in the late 1960s. If with Loving told the story of the struggle of a couple judged by the State of Virginia which prohibited marriages between a white person and a black person, with this motorcycle film the director presents a change in the country, particularly during the Vietnam War.
Inspired by Danny Lyon’s photography bookwhich he immortalized in 1967 the life of the motoclub members, Jeff Nichols approaches his subject with true elegance, benefiting from a cast with breathtaking charisma. All you have to do is see the first meeting between Kathy (Jodie Comer), a girl from a good family who arrived almost by chance in the bar where the Chicago Vandals MC, and Benny (Austin Butler), a taciturn and attractive member of the club. Love at first sight told by the young woman during her interviews with Danny Lyon.
This approach to the story allows us to highlight a female figure in a very male environment. And naturally create a form of nostalgia for the era. At least, for these complex characters full of contradictionswho seek both a form of freedom and a place in the world, who wish to free themselves from the laws by following the strict rules of the club.
Between fantasies and reality
With his camera, Jeff Nichols doesn’t mean to judge them, but they cannot ignore the modern perspective of their actions. Kathy thus emotionlessly evokes the wandering hands of motorcyclists as she leaves the bar, just before setting off on the back of Danny’s motorbike, star in her eyes. Preferring to let the viewer imagine the rest of the evening, the director continues with the young woman’s return home, early in the morning, accompanied by Danny, in front of her astonished companion. After that Danny will wait for her all day in front of her house, without saying anything about her, chaining cigarettes like candy. This is the romanticism of the era, born of cinematic fantasies so well embodied in the image ofAustin Butler with his James Dean vibe.
Furthermore, for Johnny (Tom Hardy, excellent)the founder of the Vandals is Marlon Brando and The wild team (1953) which inspired the idea of the club. This small professional with a wife and children thinks of another life, one evening in front of the television. The motorcyclists it therefore perfectly combines the realistic depiction of this world and its not-so-glorious aspects, with almost too beautiful images corresponding to Kathy’s memories. A sort of alternation between myth and reality, between the protagonists’ desire to leave a frozen life and the real world that will constantly reach them. Like this “chase” of Benny, who at the wheel of his motorbike manages to go through the red light and escape the police. While a wild epic seems to be stretching towards him, the lack of fuel will force him to stop and calmly wait for the police to arrive.
When the Vandals lose control
But where The motorcyclists it really takes on another dimension, gently shifting its story ever greater forms of violence. Jeff Nichols’ direction becomes more tragic and disturbing when, in the early 1970s, the Vietnam War finally hits the bikers. The very people who seemed totally detached from the traditional world around them. As the Vandals grow in size, new members are added, some returning from war. The opposition between “Beer drinkers and stoners” will become uncontrollable, even for Benny, enough to prevent Kathy from being raped, before being involved in turn by a lost youth who does not respect traditions.
Of course, this evolution of America and the end of the dream have already been told The motorcyclists. As Easy Rider (1969), a motorcycle trip that, while launching the golden age of New Hollywood, he simultaneously announced its end from the answer”We ruined everything” – see Jean-Baptiste Thoret’s interventions on the subject. But once again Jeff Nichols approaches it with an astonishing mixture of grace and melancholy that makes his film unique, if not extremely surprising.
The motorcyclists by Jeff Nichols, in theaters from June 19, 2024. Above is the trailer.
Source: Cine Serie
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