This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Motorcycle Moll
Plot Overview
A
journalist Danny (Mike Faist) is interviewing Kathy (Jodie Comer)
a girl who met and married Benny (Austin Butler) a prominent member
of the Vandals motorcycle gang out of Chicago. He is documenting
the evolution of the gang from 1965–1973 as it reflects changes
in the broader culture around them.
Benny is macho and free spirited and holds no ambition to be the leader. The president of the gang is one Johnny (Tom Hardy) a family man with a regular job—he drives trucks. Eventually he comes to be challenged by one of the young bucks who's part of the pot smoking contingent, not of the beer drinking old fogies.
This gang strikes me as being a couple decades ahead of a degenerating society. Their morals might be comparable to this snippet from Britain twenty years hence, illustrated by author Richard Beard:
Spencer said,
“I liked your dress last night.”
They both glanced at where it lay wantonly on the floor, empty and
anybody's. “Earlier this morning,” Hazel corrected
him. “It wasn't really last night.”
“I didn't realize it was so late.”
“I phoned after midnight. It was well into today.” (18)
“Lets not fool ourselves,” he said. “We hardly know
each other.”
“We've just spent the night together.”
“It was very late.”
“Didn't you want to?”
“Yes,” Spencer said. “I wanted to.” (21)
Ideology
Here are begun conflicts à la,
(Prov. 30:33) “Surely the
churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose
bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth
strife.” The idea in the
proverb is that a state of peace and conciliation can change
to one of war just as a liquid (milk) can change to solid (butter)
through constant agitation (churning.) Or hit a critical area (nose)
and it bleeds. This first principle is illustrated in the movie when
the relentless turning of the tape that's recording an audio
interview will eventually result in a published book. The second
when two regulars at a bar demand a solitary gang member remove his
colors in there, and it's like over my dead body. A lot of blood gets
spilled. Then the bartender pencils in their names and addresses
to the other members returned from the hospital.
Long exposure to a biker gang that
proper Kathy is not comfortable with is insidious. By analogy say
a girl hobnobs with a gang of boys tricked out for water balloon
fights. She's not a participant in that activity, but stick around
long enough, some fool thing happens and she gets wet.
It is inevitable that one of the young bucks will eventually challenge the leader. This leader has a rep as a mean fighter and had earlier humiliated this challenger. As one of the audience was heard to remark, “It wasn't a fair duel.”
Production Values
“” (2023) was written and directed by Jeff Nichols. It was based on Danny Lyon's novel, The Bikeriders. It stars Tom Hardy, Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Michael Shannon, Norman Reedus, and Mike Faist. The acting and accents were acceptable. As a group they pulled it off. Comer showed herself talented.
MPA rated it R for language throughout, violence, some drug use and brief sexuality. The gang members all needed a bath. The film employed some good camera work and was generally well made. The roaring hogs shook the theater big time. It was filmed in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Runtime is 1 hour 56 minutes.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
In the same timeframe of this film, my college roommate and I in Cincinnati used to rent Suzuki motorcycles for excursions around town. I did enjoy the free feeling, but I can't say as I was ever tempted to join a gang, and these Vandals wouldn't welcome college “pinkos” anyway. After college I became a hippie and then a Jesus freak on the West coast where originated the Jesus movement as documented in “Jesus Revolution.” We provided an alternative to the drug culture portrayed in “The Bikeriders.”
This movie is a worthy action-drama that depicts the motorcycle gang in unflattering terms. It doesn't lionize them. If someone were to run off and join up after seeing this film, he's got bigger problems than movie exposure. For motorcycle enthusiasts and drama buffs.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Decent action scenes. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Average special effects. Video Occasion: Good for Groups. Suspense: A few suspenseful moments. Overall movie rating: Four stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture quoted from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769, 1873. Software.
Beard, Richard. Damascus. Copyright © Richard Beard 1998. London: HarperCollinsPublishers, 1998. Print.
bibles.n7nz.org