Viewers shouldn’t go into “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” expecting it to be a typical “rise to superstardom” plot that many musical biopics follow. It’s an intelligent, well-paced journey exploring the soul of an artist and how it’s difficult to move forward when something is holding you back.
Director Scott Cooper takes a step back from traditional biopic tropes and provides a raw look into the making of Bruce Springsteen’s beloved album “Nebraska.” Based on the book of the same name, Cooper doesn’t try to tell Springsteen’s life story, and barely covers his biggest hits, but instead examines a time of the pop star’s most emotionally vulnerable part of his career.
Springsteen is played by the award-winning Jeremy Allen White who is popular for starring on “The Bear” and his role on “Shameless.” Though he bears little resemblance to the musician, White does his own singing and captures his character’s essence on stage with such an expressive intensity that all doubt is swept away.
The movie opens with a greyscale scene of Springsteen’s mom sending child Springsteen to get his father from a bar. At home, we see Springsteen upstairs, listening to his mother and father fight, revealing a father that isn’t simply an alcoholic, but is also volatile and unstable. It’s clear that Springsteen’s childhood trauma affects his career and the rest of the movie connects back to this theme.
Flashing forward, the movie’s present time takes place in 1981 after the release and tour of Springsteen’s commercially successful fifth studio album “The River.” Following the opening scene, we see Springsteen on stage doing his final performance for “The River,” the raw energy able to be felt through the screen. After his performance, Springsteen experiences another flashback to his childhood, his past continuing to haunt him and his career.
Battling his trauma, Springsteen holes up in a New Jersey rental with a four-track recorder in hopes of catching the raw ideas for his next album. He bases his songs off lyrical themes of isolation and emptiness, reflecting his emotional state at the time. He originally planned to re-record the songs with E-Street Band, but Springsteen felt that they couldn’t replicate the sound of the songs that he recorded alone, so he fought with Colombia Records to keep the unrefined recordings.
Manager Jon Landau and his friend Matt are some of Springsteen’s strong allies who assist him through his battle with the past and to overcome future challenges. The movie does an exceptional job at portraying his friendships, and also introduces a romantic interest. While not historically accurate, the composite character serves to represent Springsteen’s internal struggles, illustrating his inability to handle a relationship due to his emotional instability and fixation on his music.
“Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” stands out because of its focus on the emotional struggles that shaped one of Springsteen’s most authentic albums by highlighting the trauma and isolation that influenced his becoming. Both superfans as well as those who have no knowledge of Springsteen’s legacy can all equally enjoy the film, reflecting how difficult it is to move on with your life when something powerful is holding you back.