Film: The Bikeriders

I'm back in Ireland for the weekend. Film for yesterday was The Bikeriders - now, I'd seen the trailer for this a couple of times, and it looked interesting. Stars Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, and Jodie Comer - unrecognisable, in the publicity photos, as a brunette - but wow, what a cast. One review says that Austin Butler is constrained by the role, but that the others are excellent. Apparently based on a real-life biker gang, and set in 1965.. yep, if this was well done, it could be awesome.. Showing at a better time in the Odeon Limerick, so I booked for there.

Errands to run, as usual, meant I was a little later leaving than I'd have liked. And although I was missing the city centre, traffic as I approached the cinema was really slow.. I could park quite close, but still didn't have time to buy anything to nibble on. Which was a shame, because I really felt like it. But I was already 10 minutes or so past the scheduled start time. As it happened, I arrived during the trailers - didn't really feel like heading back for anything, though. They'd forgotten to switch off the lights for the trailers, so it was hard to see most of them..

Happily though, the room went black as pitch in time for the main feature. Which was a good thing - I'd have hated to miss this. So - this is based on a book that was written about the gang, and throughout the film, the writer is also a character, hanging out on the edges with a mic and recorder, and a camera, alternately taking photos and interviewing people. The title of the book lends its name to the film as well. And it's a great way of getting a window into this world.. the film starts with him interviewing Jodie Comer in a launderette..

A Guardian review accurately describes this film as sharp and seductive. Sure enough, Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy carry it - they're absolutely magnetic, and I couldn't take my eyes off them when they were on-screen. There are scenes where their faces tell the whole story - no dialogue required. Stunning performances. You'll also see faces that are familiar from several other things - Michael Shannon and Boyd Holbrook among them.

It's no Easy Rider, this - although towards the end of the film, as the group is breaking up, one member does get the (rather fun-looking) job of sitting, revving his bike outside the movie theater showing it! No, this is all about the bikes - you can almost smell the oil. They start out as a group of petrolheads - by the end of the film, they've become criminals. The film spans about eight years, starting with the free spirit idea of the 60s, ending with the death of the 60s as a new crop of riders takes over. So it's somewhat epic in scope.

Not too gory in its violence, it's kind of a eulogy for the original bike lovers who started it all. Well worth seeing for the stunning acting alone.. highly recommended. I was too tired to blog last night, though.

Tomorrow, back in London, and back with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, for an interesting-sounding play called Visit from an Unknown Woman, in Hampstead Theatre.

Tuesday is film, and what I've come up with is Happy as Lazzaro (Lazzaro Felice), showing in the Garden Cinema. It was nearly sold out when I came to it, so I've booked.

On Wednesday, back with London Literary Walks again - this is for Tyburn Gallows. Meeting at the Duke of Kendal, so I've booked to eat there as well.

And on Thursday, film again - next week is full of them - and I'm headed to a documentary in the Curzon Bloomsbury. This is How (Not) to Build a School in Haiti, and looks entertaining.. story of a (white) American guy who wanted to put his construction skills to use after the 2010 Haitian earthquake, and discovered it wasn't all that easy!