Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

Greetings again from the darkness (on the edge of town). My connection to Bruce Springsteen's music dates back more than 50 years and includes hitchhiking (from San Antonio) to a gig at the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin. As much as I loved the early tunes from his first two albums, it was the 1975 release of the "Born to Run" album that spoke to me on a mystical level. His storytelling and anthems on that instant classic, as well as the next two albums, "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "The River", had a way of drawing us in for a pure escape. By 1981, Springsteen's albums were huge and his live performances were legendary and exhilarating. It's the time period just after that serves as the basis for this film from writer-director Scott Cooper, based on the 2023 book, "Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska" by Warren Zanes.

A black & white opening takes us to Bruce's childhood (he's played by newcomer Matthew Anthony Pellican Jr) where we get a feel for his rocky home life with mom Adele (Gaby Hoffman, C'MON C'MON, 2021) and on-the-verge of violence dad "Dutch" (a terrific Stephen Graham, "Adolescence"). Cooper then cuts to the closing night of the 1981 tour in Cincinnati, where Jeremy Allen White ("Shameless") as Bruce belts out "Born to Run" with the E Street Band (decent lookalikes). At this point, I found myself a bit deflated. It all felt too cliché and the song just wasn't up to the standard I'd hoped. Fortunately, things were about to get much more interesting with a deep dive into the birth of "Nebraska".

Bruce was 31 years old and on the verge of superstardom after his first true hit, "Hungry Heart" (which fortunately is mentioned but never heard). The record company is itching for the next round of hits, while Bruce is clearly dealing with some mixed emotions. His rented house in Colts Neck, New Jersey affords him the solitude he needs to obsess over Terrence Malick's BADLANDS (1973) with Martin Sheen as a psychotic killer based on real life killer Charles Starkweather (the last name plays an interesting part of Springsteen trivia). Bruce fans know what happens next - in the sanctity of the home's bedroom, and with the help of guitar tech Mike Batlan (Paul Walter Hauser, RICHARD JEWELL, 2019), he records the songs for the "Nebraska" album using low-tech equipment. His insistence on releasing the album in raw form sends the record company into a tizzy. Bruce also works in a few jam sessions at the infamous club, The Stone Pony, where we see him cut through Little Richard's "Lucille" and John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom".

It's here where the deep friendship between Bruce and his agent, Jon Landau (a wonderful Jeremy Strong, THE APPRENTICE, 2004) becomes the heart of the film. Nope, it's not the music that makes this story work ... it's the support of Landau for his friend, whom he also recognizes as a genius. During this dark emotional time, Bruce somehow begins a romance with Faye (Odessa Young, MOTHERING SUNDAY, 2021), a local single mom - who is also an amalgam of women in Bruce's life at the time. This contributes to the complexities of Bruce's mental state during this time, and helps us (and him) understand why this particular music is so necessary for him.

"I have seen rock & roll's future and his name is Bruce Springsteen". That's a quote from a 1974 concert review by music writer Jon Landau. Yes, the same man who became Springsteen's long-time manager and close friend. But this movie isn't about Bruce Springsteen the rock icon. It's a meditative and exploratory peek at a soulful artist during a dark and confusing time. He is sliced open to reveal someone still dealing with a less-than-joyous childhood while balancing the pressure of becoming an international sensation. This was the calm before the storm of "Born in the U. S. A." ... only it wasn't anything near calm for Bruce. He was in pain - a true tortured soul working through the emotions of finding himself. It's quite fascinating to watch, though most assuredly, a departure from the mainstream music biopics we have seen over the past few years.

Scott Cooper's film, CRAZY HEART (2009) won Jeff Bridges an Oscar, and proved the director had a feel for angst in musicians. Warren Zanes wrote the book this film is adapted from, and as guitarist for the Del Fuegos and Tom Petty biographer, Zanes absolutely understands this life. It's because of these two gentlemen and superb performance in Acts 2 and 3 by Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong that this film never wallows in melodrama, despite the lead character suffering with depression and anxiety. While we hear cuts from the Nebraska album, Springsteen fans should know this is not a concert film. The music is utilized precisely and purposefully, but the music does not drive this film. The exception might be White's rendition of "Born in the U. S. A." while in the studio. That's the one time audience members might be tempted to yell: "BRRUUUUUCE!" Opens wide on October 24, 2025.

Where you come from is gone. Where you thought you were going was never there." Flannery O'Connor

Writer/director Scott Coopeer's Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere has Flannery's dark but open celebration of life, where Bruce (Jeremy Allen White) has been-from an unsettling place with his erratic father and loving mother to Bruce's own struggles with depression. Therefore, this is an introspective take, not the bombastic but splashy Bohemian Rhapsody.

Although this bio is small by most standards of musical stories and covers only a few of his years, it gets to places in the artist's psyche only a few have ever gone. It obviates my concern that the big bios are about melodies and groupies, not the inspiring creative process of the musician. In a sense, Bob Dylan's story in A Complete Unknown (2024) came close to the interior look that Springsteen's story does.

While we witness the conflicts of birthing Nebraska and its inherent darkness, Cooper and co-writer Warren Zanes (the story is adapted from his Springsteen bio) gently and slowly hint at the life-changing song Born in the USA. They well document the Boss's struggle between promoting albums and benefiting from the hit single return, violating his prime directive to present the whole story in an album.

This biopic chooses to accompany Bruce while he emerges as a rock 'n roll legend devoted to the common man's celebration of life's smaller moments that eventually lead to where he is going.

As much as I like this minimalist approach, I still yearn for more stage singing at which White is so adept-he should be nominated-- as Chalamet was last year. I could do less of Bruce's romance with Faye (Odessa Young)-if it's even real-and more of the sterling interaction with his friend/counsel Jon Landau (Jeremy Strong).

In this fine bio, Bruce best expresses the interiority of the film's perspective:

"I just want it to feel like I'm in the room by myself." Bruce.

'Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere' is a slow, melancholic look at a dark chapter in the life of a legend. It peels back the layers on Bruce Springsteen's creative crisis around creating his 'Nebraska' album - a quiet, haunting period where the music came from pain more than fame. Jeremy Allen White, one of the most talented actors of our generation, absolutely does him justice. His stillness, his tension, his quiet ache - all spot on.

I really appreciated the film's focus on mental health too; it's such an important conversation, and seeing it explored through someone as iconic as Springsteen gives it even more weight. The way it honours Springsteen's struggle with what it means to succeed, what it means to escape, what it means to carry your past even when you're on the cusp of everything - that's vital. It's important we keep talking about it. That introspection is the real soul of the piece.

That said, the film does feel a bit too cautious. I wanted it to go deeper, to get a bit messier and more impactful, rather than staying so safe. Still, if you don't mind a slow burn where most of the action happens under the surface, it's a beautifully introspective watch.

"Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere" is a biopic about the life of musician Bruce Springsteen based on the 2023 book "Deliver Me From Nowhere" by Warren Zanes. Written and directed by Scott Cooper ("Crazy Heart", "Black Mass", "Hostiles") and starring Jeremy Allen White in the lead role, it offers a subtle, melancholic look at an important transitional period in the famous rock star's career.

In 1981, singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen (Jeremy Allen White) decides to retreat to his ranch in Colts Neck, New Jersey after feeling burned out from all of the media attention he received from his recent album "The River". While there, Bruce contemplates what kind of creative direction he will take for his follow-up release, eventually settling on a quieter, more stripped-back set of ballads with lyrics drawn loosely from his own traumatic childhood experiences. Recording the songs on a cassette tape from within his own bedroom, Bruce utilises minimal instrumentation and other outside sources to keep the music from sounding too polished, resulting in a ten track folk album he later titles "Nebraska". Due to Bruce's insistence on not releasing any singles, putting himself on the front cover, or touring to promote the album, his record label Columbia feels doubtful about Nebraska's commercial success, but Bruce's manager and close friend Jon Landau (Jeremy Strong) trusts his judgement and works hard to convince the Columbia executives to release the album in its current state.

Known by his honorific nickname "The Boss", Bruce Springsteen has been entertaining many listeners with his music for well over fifty years, an accomplishment few other artists are able to equal. Before he was able to completely sell out large stadiums with his famously boisterous, energetic live concerts, Bruce's initial success was mostly restricted to within his home country of the United States, in particular his native state of New Jersey. Though he did eventually hit international stardom with his 1984 album "Born in the U. S. A.", Bruce first experimented with a softer sounding folk record in "Nebraska", a huge risk that ended up paying off considerably in the long run. Chronicling Bruce's creation of the album and his personal background surrounding it, the film "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere" shows the audience that channelling one's insecurities into something creative can often be one of the best forms of cathartic therapy available.

Appropriately reflecting what is a frequent subject matter in his music, we are first shown the life of a young Bruce Springsteen (Matthew Anthony Pellicano) with his middle-class upbringing throughout the late 1950s. Here, we watch as eight-year-old Bruce deals with the issues his parents are facing throughout their marriage, mostly stemming from the mental health problems of his father Douglas (Stephen Graham), who struggles to hold down a job to help keep a roof over their heads. Because of Douglas's raging insecurities, Bruce often finds himself overhearing his parents fighting loudly outside his room with little to drown out their shouting except plugging his ears and hoping they will stop at some point. Though Douglas clearly has many demons to conquer, we see that he nonetheless loves Bruce and tries (though often in vain) to build a positive relationship with his son, either by teaching him how to fight or taking him out to the movies. Little would young Bruce know that it is experiences like these that will prove pivotal in influencing him creatively later on in life.

Jumping forward to 1981, we see a now 32-year-old Bruce in the process of winding down after extensively touring to promote his fifth album "The River". Choosing to take some time away from the public eye, Bruce settles into his secluded New Jersey ranch, though his break is sabotaged due to his reemerging childhood memories hindering his capacity to think properly. However, Bruce soon realises that he can use his insecure thoughts as the creative backbone of his next album, composing new songs with lyrics that parallel some of the trauma he experienced growing up. In stark contrast to his previous work, Bruce chooses to do away with the usual loud rock n' roll production in favour of something that uses the bare minimum of instrumental input, often only ever featuring him singing over acoustic guitar and a harmonica.

What results from this is a relatively quiet folk album comprising of ten songs that each tell the story of middle-class people struggling to make it through tough times, many of which bear similarities to Bruce's own experiences with his family. As the film then shows, this method of Bruce using what was holding him back as an outlet for creativity quickly ends up being one of the most important decisions of his entire musical career, effectively setting him on the path towards what he would become widely known for later on. I enjoyed the way we get to see each moment of Bruce trying to overcome his personal troubles by attempting to make peace with his past, whether it's through his songwriting or by physically confronting those who instigated all of these issues to begin with. It helps brings out a sincere, human quality in a famous individual we would otherwise view as a seemingly perfect rockstar icon.

No stranger to making movies about flawed musicians, director Scott Cooper adopts a similar approach here towards the real life Bruce Springsteen as he did with fictional country singer Otis "Bad" Blake (Jeff Bridges) in 2009's "Crazy Heart". To accomplish this, Cooper often shows Bruce at odds with those around him over how he wants the album to turn out, disregarding any input that would detract from his vision. For instance, most of the people Bruce works alongside with during Nebraska's production believe it is a bad idea to release a folk record right after five previous albums of heavy rock songs. Naturally, Bruce insists he knows what he is doing, and continues running the risk of creating a record that will either make or break him as an artist.

Additionally, there are also key scenes where Cooper shows Bruce attempting to reconcile with his family, particularly with his father Douglas. Moments like these flash back and forth between Bruce as a kid and as an adult, showing how these interactions have greatly affected the direction he has chosen to take things with this album. For the most part, these scenes are handled respectfully, but much like the Nebraska album itself, the pacing is fairly slow and the usual sensationalism is kept to a minimum. Whether the viewer will see this as beneficial or detrimental to the film's entertainment value is dependent on their level of commitment to Bruce Springsteen, but as a moderate fan of the musician's work myself, it didn't really bother me all that much.

Capturing the legendary rocker's signature style at all times, Jeremy Allen White does a solid job at depicting Bruce Springsteen during one of the most vulnerable periods of his life. As anyone who has watched him on the TV series "The Bear", White's acting style is perfectly suited to someone like Springsteen, demonstrating his ability to both come alive on stage in front of an audience of adoring fans to quietly trying to overcome his deeply-rooted issues completely by himself. Like Timothée Chalamet did with Bob Dylan in "A Complete Unknown", White also did all of his own singing without the need for post-production overdubs and even played the harmonica himself as well. White's commitment to this role is admirable, and I would say it's one of his best film performances to date.

Narrowly preventing the film from being a one man show, Jeremy Strong also has a few memorable parts as Bruce Springsteen's manager Jon Landau, who also happens to be a close friend of his. Though most of his dialogue was lacking in places, Strong nonetheless was able to elevate his role above what could have been viewed as a brief footnote in Springsteen's history thanks to the scenes that show him never once giving up on his client. It is made clear that Jon understands Bruce's need for the album to turn out this way in order for him to start his healing process and continue moving forward as an artist. Even when Bruce is not around, Jon still finds the time to defend his artist's integrity to the record label, even if that means he too will face sharp criticism from others.

Although I don't exactly see the film winning him any new admirers, "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere" still succeeds at finding ways to present to us an appropriately flawed image of an iconic musician like Bruce Springsteen. We all have our insecurities to overcome, and it is nice to be reminded that even The Boss himself grapples with his own personal demons, which in turn makes him a more relatable person to viewers from all walks of life. With that said, it is probably the longtime fans who will derive the most enjoyment out of a movie like this, especially ones who consider Nebraska to be his best work. As for everyone else, I recommend listening to that album first before checking this film out, because it will certainly help put things into the required perspective.

I rate it 7/10.

A Complete Unknown (2024), Elvis (2022), Judy (2019), Rocketman (2019), Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), I Saw the Light (2015), The Runaways (2010), and I Walk the Line (2005). These are 21st century movies that feature actors doing their own singing as they portray iconic music artists. It seems that audiences will not tolerate anything less from these Oscar-baiting performances. Well, now we can add another. Gaining much critical acclaim for his work in The Bear, Jeremy Allen White sings his way onto the screen in Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.

What is missing from this film that quite often dominates other such films (excessively so in Bohemian Rhapsody), is an overwhelming amount of concert footage. In fact, the film opens with the end of a concert, and the end of a tour which sets up the "what next" aspect of the plot. The movie is set in the early 80s prior to the release of the album Nebraska. It follows Springsteen as he withdraws from public attention, holding up in a secluded rental house near a lake where he writes the songs that would not only populate Nebraska, but also the material that would then make up the very successful Born in the U. S. A. Album, blowing his career wide open.

The movie zeroes in on Bruce's relationship with his parents Adele (Gaby Hoffmann), and Douglas (Stephen Graham). The relationship with his father was particularly stormy, and pivotal to the internal struggles that surround this period for Bruce. Caught up in the storm is also Faye Romano (a fine performance from Odessa Young). On the business side, Bruce's manager John Landau (Jeremy Strong) must find a balance between attending to Bruce's creative process and pressures from record executive Al Teller (David Krumholtz).

This is a quiet, very intimate film that is narrow in scope. White's performance, much like all of his time spent on screen, is introspective and intense, never bombastic or over-the-top. In both his speech and his vocals, he captures The Boss very effectively. Grant it, I am not a huge Springsteen uber-fan, so it was convincing for me. There is plenty of love given to Springsteen's Jersey locations, the area where he grew up, Asbury Park, and The Stone Pony Club.

That Club marked a few of my favorite scenes in the film. A bearded man sings "Lucille," "Boom Boom," and "I Put a Spell on You." That man is the lead singer for one of my favorite blues/rock bands, Rival Sons. His name is Jay Buchanan, and if you appreciate his performance in the film, you will love that band. Check them out. There are also a few intersecting points with other films. So, if you want to make it a double or triple feature, you could pair it with Sean Penn's The Indian Runner (1991), which is inspired by a song from Nebraska (Highway Patrolman). An inspiration for the title song "Nebraska" is Badlands (1973), and clips are featured in this film.