The Loveless (1981)

[7]

Willem Dafoe made his big-screen debut in this meditative homage to The Wild Ones from writer/directors Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Near Dark) and Monty Montgomery. Dafoe plays a greaser who lays over in rural Georgia to wait for the other members of his motorcycle gang to catch up with him on their way to a Daytona racing competition. But a busted chain lays them up in a garage long enough to become embroiled in the lives of locals. A dangerous clash of cultures grows more and more unavoidable.

Some may find The Loveless slow-paced and wanting for more plot, but Bigelow and Montgomery have compelling ideas swirling under the surface of their sleek production design and reserved ’50s cool-talk. Their depiction of Dafoe and his chums is somewhat aloof and non-judgmental. The characters who experience change in the movie are the townfolk. At first, they quietly judge the bikers and warn against their lifestyle. But one by one, the citizens seem to willingly ingratiate themselves with the four leather-clad men and their token gal pal. Some seek competition from the outsiders — an opportunity to best them. Others envy their freedom from convention. The bikers end up being a Pandora’s Box for the community — letting loose secrets and lowering their inhibitions.

While it’s not a role of much range, Dafoe gives the film’s best performance. The real star of The Loveless is the atmosphere. The long takes and leisurely pacing give the viewer plenty of time to soak in the asphalt, crickets, chrome, leather, and neon. It’s a ‘hang out’ movie, where the characters you’re hanging out with aren’t so much good people as peculiar ones. The ending may catch people as abrupt or off-putting, but I thought it was the perfect way to end a counter-cultural response to the 1980s unhealthy obsession with the 1950s.