Summary
The Bikeridersdirector Jeff Nichols is not impressed by comparisons between his 2024 biker movie and Martin Scorsese’s classic 1990 crime dramaGoodfellas. Tom Hardy, Austin Butler and Jodie Comer star in Nichols’ new release, following the exploits of a fictionalized 1960s motorcycle gang. With its gritty depiction of an outlaw culture that at first seems seductive, but is slowly revealed to have a darkly violent side, the film has drawn comparisons to Scorsese’sGoodfellas.
WhileBikeriderswriter-director Nichols acknowledges the similarities between his movie andGoodfellas, he nevertheless accuses reviewers of going for “low-hanging fruit” in pointing out what his film has in common, both structurally and stylistically, with Scorsese’s 1990 masterpiece. Check out his remarks below (viaTexas Monthly):
“[The Bikeriders] is structured in such an odd way. Some people like it more than others. Some people don’t like it at all. But I like it. And when I look at it, I’m like, ‘Man, why doesn’t everybody notice how hard this is to do?’ And they’re like, ‘Eh, it feels kind of likeGoodfellas.’ They just grab the low-hanging fruit, like, ‘There are freeze-frames and music!’ Yeah, okay, I get it.”
“[In Goodfellas] The first hour is a love letter to the mob and that lifestyle. It’s designed to make you fall in love with that lifestyle, even while they’re out stabbing people and doing crazy s—. You don’t get out of the first hour of that movie not being like, ‘F— yeah,’ And then there’s an hour dismantling it.”
Comparisons Between The Bikeriders And Goodfellas Are Warranted
Goodfellasindeed spends its first hour making the gangster lifestyle feel intoxicating,Scorsesedeploying every filmmaking trick in the book to create a fast-paced and energetic portrait of a specific time and place, and a very specific subculture. But as the film progresses, Scorsese means to undermine the viewer’s initial impression of what it means to be a gangster, showing the dark reality of the underworld and their violent acts, and delivering a sobering message about the reality of mobsters and their dealings.
Nichols seems to have tried a similar approach in depicting real-life 1960s biker culture, leading inevitably to his film being characterized as “Goodfellas on bikes.” While Nichols acknowledges that the similarities between his film and Scorsese’s are real, he seems to think critics are short-changing him on how difficult it was to pull offThe Bikeriders, implying that they’re missing the point in what he was attempting to say.
The Bikeridersopened with $9.7 million at the domestic box office
Critics indeed tend to focus on the style and structure ofGoodfellasmore than the underlying message, and the first hour of that film is seen as more humorous and entertaining than the increasingly dark and anxiety-inducing later passages of the film.Nichols’The Bikeridersseems doomed to a similarly reductive critical fate, being read as an overall crowd-pleasing movie that, in trying to deliver a deeper, darker message, undermines its own surface-level amusements, leaving viewers conflicted rather than enlightened.
The Bikeriders
Cast
The Bikeriders is a 2024 drama exploring the turbulent relationship between Kathy and Benny, a member of the Vandals motorcycle club. As the club delves into violence, Benny faces a critical choice between staying with Kathy and his allegiance to the club.
