With 'The Bikeriders' approaching, take a tour through Jeff Nichols' uniquely American films

Jeff Nichols’ “The Bikeriders” finally opens in theaters this weekend.

The film's release date moved from the height of awards season in 2023 due to the actors' strike, presumably in order for its stacked cast of hot actors — including Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, and Mike Faist — to do publicity and get people excited about seeing the film.

Then again, I’ve seen little to no marketing or media fanfare for the story of motorcycle-riding bandits in the Midwest. Some have hinted the studio isn’t sure how to promote a film based on a photography book, one that relies more on attitude and aesthetics than plot. Which leads one to wonder why they moved its release in the first place. Perhaps the studio wasn’t so sure about its Oscars odds after all.

Dropping "The Bikeriders" in the heat of the summer movie season is likely to make a bad box-office showing look catastrophic. Bad B.O. early in the year usually means DOA come awards time.

Nichols deserves better. Since hitting the festival scene 17 years ago, the filmmaker has flirted with mainstream success but has been met with indifference from the public and some critics. Even when he takes on crowd-pleasing stories, the now Austin, Texas-based auteur seems too grungy for people to embrace, too emotionally cold to catch fire.

Or perhaps it is his insistence on showing an unglamorous side of our country. His camera focuses on depressed small towns in the rural South and the complicated blue-collar characters that inhabit them. Maybe Nichols’ films look too far removed from Hollywood veneer to be hits.

Regardless, he’s a unique voice that should be supported. In addition to a unique style of filmmaking, Nichols shows flashes that remind one of Malick, the Coens or even Spielberg. Real genius-level cinema.

He hasn’t had a film open since 2016’s “Loving,” so let’s stroll through his earlier filmography and get you caught up before “The Bikeriders” hits a screen near you.

'Shotgun Stories' (2007)

Nichols’ first film is the little-seen “Shotgun Stories.” Made on a shoe-string budget in his native Arkansas, it meanders like many indie films despite its 90-minute run time. Lots of pauses between the dialogue and extended set-ups of people walking into frame. We’ve all seen arthouse films with problems like these.

Two families in a small town let lingering resentments boil over; the characters resort to violence and this leads to tragedy. The survivors can continue the cycle or choose a greater fate with an outcome that will surprise. Despite its technical limitations, the film features a dynamite performance from Michael Shannon who, at the time, was really just getting on filmgoers’ radars and ended up being a regular in Nichols’ work.

There’s also a beauty in the images, as the widescreen photography captures the gulf of empty horizon beyond sleepy streets and muddy rivers. Visually, the audience gets swept into the yawning vastness of this place. “Shotgun Stories” shows a filmmaker's power and potential in its earliest form.

It's hard to find on streaming. You can rent it on Vimeo, but a new 4k DVD was just released if physical media is your thing.

'Take Shelter' (2011)

A few years later, Nichols and Shannon returned with “Take Shelter.” An unnerving viewing experience, it’s about a working-class Ohioan who sees visions of an apocalyptic storm and begins to build out his cellar in the backyard. All the while questioning if this is real or the beginning of serious mental illness. Everyone around him assumes it’s the latter and become increasingly concerned.

As they should. What’s terrifying about the film is imagining yourself or your partner or your co-worker existing quietly but slowly losing mental capacity. As we question the sanity of our fellow American, “Take Shelter” feels more relevant now that it did in 2011.

Although, watching it again recently, the finale still rings hollow for me. Perhaps I do not appreciate the philosophy behind it, but the film doesn’t lay the groundwork for the last moments. Up to that point, it’s an affecting film with a performance from Shannon you're unlikely to forget.

You can stream “Take Shelter” on Hulu.

'Mud' (2012)

Nichols’ next film is probably his most culturally impactful. “Mud” features Matthew McConaughey in the title role at the beginning of his transformation from heartthrob to Oscar-winning actor. The story itself is absorbing as two young boys discover a prisoner hiding on an island in the Arkansas delta.

Beautifully realized and emotionally felt, “Mud” evokes Mark Twain while providing its own modern spin. Again, the cinematography captures the grimness and grime of the Natural State through a golden hue. You’ve never seen our neighbors to the South captured so gracefully on celluloid.

I found it free with ads on Tubi, but you can rent it anywhere.

'Midnight Special' (2016)

More than likely you’ve seen “Mud” if you’re a movie fan. Nichols' follow-up, “Midnight Special,” should have put him on the mainstream map.

Released by Warner Bros. with a decent budget, Nichols evokes emotionally-charged sci-fi from the 1980s with the story of a young boy whose special powers catch the attention of a cult (led by American icon Sam Shepard) and the federal government. It’s got a great cast with the likes of Shannon, Joel Edgerton, and Kirsten Dunst in the leads.

It's probably a bit too odd for kids who might relate to the main character and too fantastical for some adults who might appreciate the deeper aspects of the story. I remember seeing it twice in the theaters back in 2016 and being awed by the whole thing. It uses visual effects, but Nichols understands that no one will care if the characters or their situation don’t resonate.

“Midnight Special” deserved to be a bigger hit. You can make up for lost time and stream it on Max now.

Nichols is a uniquely American filmmaker who loves using the sparseness of small towns as a backdrop for flawed characters. Go support his movies so the studios will keep giving him money to make them.

James Owen is the Tribune’s film columnist. In real life, he is a lawyer and executive director of energy policy group Renew Missouri. A graduate of Drury University and the University of Kansas, he created Filmsnobs.com, where he co-hosts a podcast. He enjoyed an extended stint as an on-air film critic for KY3, the NBC affiliate in Springfield, and now regularly guests on Columbia radio station KFRU.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: A closer look at 'Bikeriders' filmmaker Jeff Nichols' greatness so far