Evocative new drama The Bikeriders puts Tom Hardy at the forefront of an excellent ensemble cast.
Mud director Jeff Nichols adapts true events from the American counter-culture rebellion of 1965, exploring the trials and tribulations of a marauding biker gang as they make their way across the country. Here's the poster that practically transmits a sense of sixties nostalgia.
As you can see, the stacked cast also includes Dune: Part Two's Austin Butler and The Last Duel's Jodie Comer. Nichols regular Michael Shannon also features, as does Norman Reedus, Boyd Holbrook and Damom Herriman.
Centrally, the movie is adapted from the photo book of the same name by Danny Lyons, which immortalised a bygone age of roaring engines and devil-may-care attitudes in the midst of a period when America was changing.
The movie is also evidently taking inspiration from the 1953 Marlon Brando classic The Wild One, and presumably Hunter S. Thompson's searing expose Hell's Angels, which documented the chaos and destruction wrought by the infamous biker gang.
We can practically smell the exhaust fumes already as the movie opens up the possibilities of the open road. Check out the first trailer below in which Comer's character Kathy acts as our retrospective narrator and articulates what it was like to live in a world without rules.
The Bikeriders is scheduled for a UK release on December 1st and has already screened as part of the 2023 Telluride Film Festival.