This past weekend, the sweeping crime saga The Bikeriders opened in theaters, the story of a young man named Benny (Austin Butler) torn between his marriage to the fiery Kathy (Jodie Comer) and the outlaw motorcycle club he’s a part of, the Vandals, led by the enigmatic Johnny (Tom Hardy).
Based on a collection of photographs of actual biker gangs, writer-director Jeff Nichols (Mud, Take Shelter) aims to tell a story of shifting countercultures in ’60s and ’70s Midwestern America—but it’s hard to think of anything else when you pick up on the sizzling homoerotic tension between Butler and Hardy’s characters!
Maybe we’re just living in a post-Challengers world, but, come on, The Bikeriders is basically a queer love triangle drama, too, right?
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*Caution: Minor spoilers ahead for The Bikeriders.*
Well, yes and no. On one hand, sure, there’s a very obvious gay metaphor in a story about a group of outcast men who wear lots of leather, ride around town on “crotch rockets,” and openly scoff at women who try to encroach on their tight-knit social circle.
Our protagonist, Benny, really feels like he can let loose and be himself around these guys. However, as the world around him evolves, and the Vandals fall further into a lifestyle of crime and violence, his wife Kathy understandably objects.
But remove the crime element and what do you have? A man stuck between heteronormativity and a life where he’s more open and unbound by the rigid rules of society. And, yes, surrounded by hot, brooding men!
Plus, it feels like no accident that the cast of The Bikeriders is filled with gorgeous guys who look great with a little sweat and grease on’em. With his old-school good looks, Austin Butler’s pretty much the James Dean of this era. The hunky Tom Hardy has famously not been shy about the gay hookups of his past. And their other sexy co-stars include Boyd Holbrook, Norman Reedus, Karl Glusman—even Challengers‘ Mike Faist shows up!
Clearly, movie-goers are picking up on the film’s homoerotic vibe. Here’s a quick scan of Gay Twitter™’s reactions thus far:
Here’s the thing though: If you’re coming to The Bikeriders for some overtly gay, motorcycle bad-boy action, it doesn’t really deliver—and the movie’s worse off for it!
As Alison Wilmore hilariously (and correctly) writes in a piece for Vulture: “The Bikeriders would be 50 percent better if Tom Hardy kissed Austin Butler… I’m not saying this because I need to see Hardy plant a wet one on Butler, though the world wouldn’t exactly be worse for having that image in it. It’s just that the movie is filled with simmering emotions that could really stand to boil over, and a biker-gang leader’s possibly homoerotic fixation on his group’s most photogenic member is simply the most obvious way this could happen.”
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No matter how obsessed Nichols’ camera seems to be with Butler’s arms, or Hardy’s lips, it never really lets its audience see that the guys feel the same way.
But never fear: If you left the theater disappointed that The Bikeriders wasn’t the sexy, queer biker movie all the promo and tweets had led you to believe, have you got a movie for you…
The Leather Boys is the homoerotic biker movie done right
As its title might imply, British drama The Leather Boys does a much better job of exploring the homoeroticism lying just beneath the leather-clad surface of an outlaw motorcycle club—and, believe it or not, it was released 60 years ago!
From filmmaker Sidney J. Furie (The Ipcress File), the story similarly focuses on a young, newly married, working-class couple, Reggie (Colin Campbell) and Dot (Rita Tushingham) who begin to drift apart as Reggie becomes more and more involved with a group of biker friends, particularly the smooth-talking Pete (Dudley Sutton).
*Another caution: More spoilers ahead for the rest of the plot of The Leather Boys.*
After a fight, Dot leaves, and Reggie moves in with his recently widowed grandmother. He soon welcomes a homeless Pete to move in with him—and the two even end up sharing a bed, a fact which inspires Dot to call them both “queers” when she finds out. When asked to deny he’s gay, Pete avoids answering.
As The Leather Boys rolls on, Reggie considers getting back with Dot—especially after she lies and tells him she’s pregnant—which upsets Pete, who continually reminds his friend that they get along so much better, suggesting the run away together.
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In the end, Reggie discover’s Dot’s been sleeping around, so he returns to Pete, eager to leave it all behind for America. When they choose a pub to hatch their escape plan, it’s only then that Reggie realizes they’re in a gay bar—and everyone there knows Pete. Reggie finally accepts the truth about his friend and decides to walk away.
So, no, it’s not a happy gay ending. But it’s remarkable how directly The Leather Boys addresses queerness in 1964, especially when you consider it was violating The Hays Code—the system of strict regulations that forbid Hollywood films from depicting homosexuality in any overt way.
Interestingly, the film was adapted by writer Gillian Freeman, based on her own book of the same name, which was even more explicit in its depiction of the queer relationship at its core.
Still, there’s a good reason why The Leather Boys is often discussed as an early forebear to queer cinema. Even 60 years ago, it was unafraid to confront a truth that The Bikeriders could not: Sometimes, biker boys want to kiss other biker boys!
The Bikeridersis now playing in theaters everywhere. The Leather Boys is currently streaming via Kanopy and Tubi.
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CNY1983
those were the days…..