Movie Review - Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere

Director: Scott Cooper
Genre: Drama/ Music
Runtime: 119 minutes
Year: 2025
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Stephen Graham, Paul Walter Hauser, Odessa Young, David Krumholtz, Gaby Hoffmann, Grace Gummer
 
Description: Bruce Springsteen’s journey crafting his 1982 album Nebraska, which emerged as he recorded Born in the USA with the E Street Band.
 
Review: “Springsteen: Deliver me From Nowhere” is a biopic about Bruce Springsteen. But not the type of biopic you would usually get when a musician’s story is told. It’s not the story of his life and the rise of him as a musical artist. We follow a specific part of his life and career, where Springsteen was writing songs for the album we now know as “Nebraska”. A very personal album, that Springsteen needed to make, when everyone around him wanted him to make an album with hits.

Bruce Springsteen is one of the most influential musicians of our time. We know a lot about his music, his life, we think we know Bruce through his music. In “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” director Scott Cooper focuses on a more unknown part of his life. It delves into the creation of the album “Nebraska” and shows a different, darker side of Springsteen, separate from his energetic stage persona. That the film has a darker tone, is the reason why many people don’t like this. But I believe that’s the strength of this movie. We have all seen the same type of biopic about musicians. “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” dares to show the darker side of Springsteen’s life. It doesn’t shy away from the pain that lies at the heart of an artist and shows that Springsteen struggled with depression. It also shows the artistic integrity that Springsteen had. The meaning of his music was more important to him than having hits. And no one supported him, but his manager Jon Landau. Who was always in his corner, he trusted Springsteen and supported him, even when he thought it wasn’t the decision he would make. This film had an emotional impact on me, I found it deeply moving and honestly told. Especially that final scene really touched me.

Jeremy Allen White portrays The Boss and I have nothing but praise for him. He managed to capture Springsteen’s intensity, rather than just imitating him. White shows the struggle Springsteen had with success and with his past. The fact that he did all the singing himself and learned how to play the guitar, just adds to that. Close your eyes and it’s like you’re listening to Bruce. And he did look the part too, he resembled a young Bruce Springsteen. Jeremy Strong delivers a great performances as well, as John Landau. And I also want to highlight Stephen Graham, as Bruce’s father. I can never fault him, but the few scenes Graham is in, really impacted the story.

I was surprised that this film didn’t do that well at the box office, but also not so surprised. And the ratings are average. I feel like people expected a very Hollywood-like biopic, all sunshine and rainbows. The story of a young Bruce, who started making music and then breaks though. We’ve seen it way too many times, so I can only praise Cooper for showing the emotion, the depth, the darker side of the life of one of the most successful rock stars. Because the album this film focuses on, “Nebraska”, reflects this as well. To me it was a perfect movie and a must-see for every Bruce Springsteen fan. I saw it with my dad, who is a big fan, and he was amazed by the film. That says a lot for someone who only stays awake during war or action movies. Take it from me, this film did so much for me and I think “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” is one of the best films I’ve seen this year.

Rating: 5/ 5