Austin Butler & Jodie Comer Explain The Cultural Context Of The Vandals Evolution In The Bikeriders

240 4 minutes read

Summary

The Bikeriders
delves into the evolution of the Vandals motorcycle club from a community to a dangerous underworld teeming with violence.
Austin Butler and Jodie Comer discuss the loyalty and unique voice of their characters in the film, reflecting a dark era in American history.
Through visual inspiration and real-life interviews, the cast captures the essence of the era and characters, highlighting the turmoil in America.

Kathy and Benny are drawn to one another after a chance meeting at a local bar in The Bikeriders. However, as the newest member of the Vandals, which is run by the enigmatic Johnny, being close to Benny means being drawn into the world of the Midwestern motorcycle club. As the club evolves from a place for motorcycle enthusiasts to find a sense of community into an underworld of violence and danger, Benny will be forced to choose between the Vandals and Kathy.

The Bikeriders was written and directed by Jeff Nichols based on Danny Lyon’s acclaimed photo book of the same name. Nichols was influenced by both the visuals and the insightful interviews. The Bikeriders captures not only this era in American history but also the dark evolution of the Vandals motorcycle club. The cast was able to find inspiration from interviews in the book as well as audio of said interviews. The Bikeriders features a powerhouse cast led by Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, and Norman Reedus

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Screen Rant interviewed stars Austin Butler and Jodie Comer about their new movie, The Bikeriders. Butler broke down the evolution of the Vandals and how it reflected the culture of the country at that time. Comer discussed the loyalty of the Vandals members and finding Kathy’s unique voice.

Austin Butler On Understanding How The Vandals’ Loyalty Evolved

Tom Hardy and Austin Butler in The Bikeriders Cropped

Comer discussed the bonds of loyalty between the members of the Vandals. She revealed how her feelings about this loyalty, looking back at it, differed from Kathy’s feelings.

Jodie Comer: It’s interesting. I feel like Kathy viewed their loyalty to each other sometimes as being quite… It would often get them into a lot of very dangerous situations. Whereas I think looking at it now, I think there is such a sense of camaraderie and it’s quite admirable in a way, even though there was those kind of very dangerous situations.

Butler discussed how the world around the Vandals influenced the motorcycle club. What began as a club meant to foster a sense of community between people who loved riding became a group teeming with violence and danger, reflecting the trauma that America faced during that era.

Austin Butler: Culturally, what happens during the course of this film and all the research that I did on the motorcycle clubs at that time is they start out as riding clubs. They start out as a bunch of outsiders who just love motorcycles and love to race, and they find a sense of family and community together.
And then, as the people who are the drinkers start turning into more of the drug users and Vietnam is happening and all the sort of trauma of that is coming back vto the states and getting imbued, and the younger members joining the club. It becomes, violence ends up becoming more of a factor, and it starts to eat them from the inside in order.

Jodie Comer On Capturing Kathy’s Unique Accent

“We Also Had Audio Of Danny’s Real Life Interviews”

Comer also explained how Kathy’s accent was a bit more tricky than anticipated because it isn’t the usual North Chicago accent, “we realized that all her vowel sounds were a contradiction.” She also revealed why Kathy was such a compelling storyteller and how she found a way to capture that aspect of her.

Jodie Comer: I was incredibly fortunate in a sense of not only did we have the kind of source material of Danny Lyon’s photography book, but we also had audio of Danny’s real life interviews. So just to be able to have that to dissect and really grasp what she truly felt on her inflections and certain stresses that she made.
Also, she was from North Chicago, but actually when I started working with my dialect coach, who was the best, we realized that all her vowel sounds were a contradiction. So it became less about doing a general Chicago accent and more about trying to emulate this woman because what made her so interesting was because of the way she carried herself.
It made her a very interesting storyteller. So it was just about kind of dissecting the material really, and then trying to get it to a point where you get to set and then you hope you don’t have to think about it too much.

About The Bikeriders

The Bikeriders captures a rebellious time in America when the culture and people were changing. 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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