Every man becomes his father, even international chart icons. For some, the transition is gradual and gentle; for others, the changeover takes a while to get your head around.
In Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, filmmaker Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Out of the Furnace) paints a fragile, fatalistic portrait of America’s greatest rock star at the peak of his creative powers.
In 1981, the man they call ‘The Boss’ was on fire. His third album, Born to Run, had put him on the map; his fourth and fifth, Darkness on the Edge of Town and The River, helped Springsteen and The E Street Band to sell out arenas. Then came the tiredness, the stillness and, eventually, the solitary confinement.
Locked away at his rented home in Colts Neck, New Jersey, Springsteen started to confront his demons. He thought of his father, Douglas, a depressed bus driver from Freehold, who drank too much and blamed others for his vicious temper.
Bruce read stories by Flannery O’Connor and watched films by Terrence Malick and John Huston. He wrote songs about himself and his dad, about outlaws and criminals and gutsy working-class heroes. Armed with a guitar and a four-track unit, Springsteen made an album (1982’s Nebraska), in his bedroom, and it went on to change his life.
Jeremy Allen White avoids impersonation. Photo: 20th Century Studios
A heavier film than you might expect, Deliver Me from Nowhere – a little like its weary central warrior – works up a different kind of sweat and captures this pivotal artistic breakthrough as best as anyone could hope for.
This isn’t Springsteen’s life on screen; it is, instead, a single chapter, a glimpse inside the mind of a creator at war with himself.
It’s a film about depression and about what happens when adulthood creeps on you.
It’s a story about learning to live with yourself and your flaws. It is, at its core, the tragic, timeless tale of a son doing everything he can to sidestep the mistakes of his father. That’s relatable.
Fully authorised by Springsteen himself, who visited the set and provided notes, Deliver Me from Nowhere is based on a 2023 book by Warren Zanes. It’s an admirable adaptation that sometimes goes out of its way to avoid the usual cliches and pitfalls of the typical big-screen rock flick. But it also wants to be one.
There are glimpses of a noisier, flashier film here. Somewhere in the middle, Jeremy Allen White’s Springsteen records a barnstorming first take of Born in the USA with his boys (cue lots of comical “this will be huge’” expressions behind the production desk).
Jeremy Allen White and Odessa Young. Photo: 20th Century Studios
Joyous, energetic concert sequences are sprinkled throughout the drama and Deliver Me from Nowhere also comes with a greasy, greedy label boss (David Krumholtz, enjoying himself).
How do these opposing elements co-exist? Not without the occasional wobble and there are cracks, too, in the fictional romance.
Cooper’s film imagines a doomed love affair between Springsteen and a charming diner worker named Faye (Odessa Young). We cannot fault Young’s performance, but this part of the story is sketchy and perfunctory. We get it: the gloom Springsteen inherited from his old man gets in the way of true love.
But it might have been better to further examine the fractious father-son dynamic at the heart of this complicated tale and to give the tremendous Stephen Graham (portraying the old man, Douglas) a chance to do what he does best: act. Graham, however, is often banished to the corner, which is a shame. Naturally, all eyes are on our two leads.
You won’t ever forget you’re watching Jeremy Strong. Mix up the hair, change the outfit, do whatever you like, but Strong always brings that same level of concentrated intensity to the table. His Jon Landau (Springsteen’s manager and pal) is a very serious chap, indeed. But he’s a good friend to have around.
As Springsteen, White avoids the temptation to impersonate and focuses instead on the heart and humanity behind the legend.
Think Carmy from The Bear, minus the profanity and arrogance. The voice is in terrific shape, too, and you’d watch this fella make music all day.
A challenging film, but I look forward to a repeat viewing.
3.5 stars