Danny Lyon‘s 1966 photograph Crossing the Ohio River, Louisville is regarded as a classic for a reason. In it, a man can be seen riding a motorcycle across a bridge, looking not forward at the road, as one would hope, but backward toward sights unseen. The velocity of his vehicle has whipped his hair backward; the pavement beneath becomes a blur as Lyon’s camera races to keep up.
Everything about the picture feels daring and exciting, a sentiment made all the more clear by this biker’s leather jacket, which is emblazoned with the word “OUTLAWS.” But all around this man, there are some other bridges and little more. He is alienated, set apart from the rest of the world by his own making. No one is there to witness his stunt.
Lyon, the subject of a Whitney Museum retrospective in 2016, himself makes an appearance at various points, played here by Mike Faist, who has recently gained wide acclaim for his roles in the 2021 remake of West Side Story and this year’s Challengers. In the film, Lyon is periodically shown at work, photographing members of the Vandals gang while they throw back beers and ride together. (The actual gang featured in Lyon’s photobook was called the Outlaws, whose membership ended up counting the photographer himself; Nichols has said that he changed the name because he wanted his version to be a clearly fictionalized account.)
