People might have been disappointed if they went in expecting the film to revel in The Boss’s highs. Instead, this biopic – much like how director Scott Cooper portrayed Bad Blake in Crazy Heart – focuses on mostly the lows, the testing times. The lingering pauses and quiet glances carry as much – if not more – weight than the words that are spoken. Amid its nostalgic tone, this isn’t nostalgia in the comforting sense. For Bruce, looking back is tangled with the turbulence of his upbringing – memories that ache as much as they soothe.
To me Deliver Me From Nowhere is a Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – to borrow from James Joyce’s title, which I wrote about here back in 2019 in Take a Walk with James Joyce Along the Beach. It’s about the creative process – the songwriting, the spark of inspiration, and the fragility of expression in its purest form. Springsteen had his hands all over this production too, even visiting the shoots, and you can tell he’s long past trying to make himself look good. Instead, he’s intent on telling the truth about that time – raw and unfiltered.
There’s one quiet scene in a café where he’s talking with his manager and good friend, Jon Landau. Oh and get used to seeing Springsteen with his right arm draped across the backrest. Anyhows, he’s being pressured about his next record – the same old talk – when he glances at an elderly man sitting alone in a booth. He keeps looking, as if there’s something profound in that stillness, while the world rushes past. Springsteen sees the beauty in that solitary man – and so does this film.
If there’s a moment that suspends everything else, it’s the scene midway through when Bruce’s father takes him and his sister (the inspiration behind The River) to a Mansion on the Hill – the experience that sparked one of Springsteen’s most hauntingly beautiful tracks, found on his stark and often overlooked album, Nebraska.
Me and my sister, we’d hide out in the tall cornfields
Sit and listen to the mansion on the hill
The echoes of his earlier life – Asbury Park, the county fairs, the Jersey nights – all run through this movie. Maybe not in the songs featured within, but in the small, beautiful moments – like him sneaking himself and his girl onto a carousel late at night, or trudging along the promenade with his collar turned up and hands buried deep in his pockets. That’s the Springsteen I’d always hoped to see – and Scott Cooper captures it strikingly: the world behind the fame, the grit beneath it all. The environment that shaped the music and held him steady on his journey.
Now lets take a short detour here…I’ve read my fair share of reviews of Deliver Me From Nowhere, and what most seem to overlook – or at least not give due credit to – is how powerfully the film unpacks and humanizes the experience of depression. Setting aside the man and his music for a moment, this film stands on its own as a first-person manifestation of what it’s like to live with depression. Speaking from personal experience, it struck me as an accurate and intimate portrayal.
Everything finally comes to a head during Bruce’s road trip to California, where he’s forced to confront himself and admit that the girlfriend he left behind was right all along. I also love how the film handles this moment so subtly – in that road-diner scene where Bruce simply mutters to himself, “She was right.” Faye had told him she wasn’t there just for him to “play house,” calling out his tendency to run whenever things got real. All of this – along with everything else piling up – leads to his nervous breakdown. The movie put me right inside Springsteen’s head, something almost every other music biopic fails to do.
Deliver Me From Nowhere is, quite simply, one of the finest musical biopics I’ve seen. It transported me completely back to that time and place – from the bedroom demos to the studio sessions, from the look of the streets to the sound of the air. It feels more textured, more authentic, than even A Complete Unknown, as much as I admired that film. Still, no one – not Timothée Chalamet, not Jeremy Allen White – can fully capture the raw essence of the original artist’s voice.
That said, both actors deliver wonderful performances, and we as audiences are fortunate to revisit the lives, soundscapes, and landscapes that shaped their journeys – as aforementioned – A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Glad you liked “Deliver Me From Nowhere” as well. I thought the acting was outstanding, not to mention the music performances by Jeremy Allen White. With all that said, I’m glad I didn’t walk into the film blindly and read up on it beforehand. I guess it also helped that after many years, I had finally warmed up to the “Nebraska” album. I suspect Jeremy Allen White will get a good number of award nominations. I also hope he wins some!
I couldn’t agree more. Thanks for commenting Christian with your thoughts.
Excellent review, Matt! You’ve sold me! I’m not a huge fan of his music, but you describe a nostalgic setting, atmosphere, and landscape that I want to visit again. I love it when biopics put you right there—a time, a place, and a feeling. Thanks for the rec!
Given the heavy subject matter and Bruce wrestling with demons buried so deep, the movie might not land as well with lukewarm or casual fans. It isn’t exactly pretty viewing. But thanks all the same for your encouraging words, Bernie — and let me know what you think if you get around to seeing it.
And hey, good luck to your perpetually underwhelming–overwinning Broncos today at 4:25 p.m. (here) against Kansas City. My daughter and I might try to tune in and see some of it.
Dobbins is out for the rest of the season and our defense is banged up. It’s gonna be tough and maybe brutal.
Another brilliant win. You forewarn me it’s gonna be tough and it is, and then boom! Nice.
Probably the best win of the season. They are legit contenders now. They hold their destiny in their own hands! With a bye week, I hope they get the rest and recovery time they’ll need for the homestretch. Lots of fun this year. Even Arsenal is dominating! Happy Tuesday, Matt!
We caught the last quarter, and I was busy giving my daughter Katharine a crash course in the rules. At first she threw her support behind Kansas City — we’d just watched The Wizard of Oz at the cinema earlier that day (a re-release of the original). But by the end she’d jumped over to your lot, lol. Yep, you’ve got all cylinders firing with the Gunners doing so well… you’re laughing now.
Matt, that’s awesome. How old is your daughter? My oldest is almost five, and she just likes to talk about the jersey colors, mascot, and when the next commercial will come on, haha!
Wow—Wizard of Oz on the big screen. What a landmark movie. How many times have you seen it, and does it still hold up?
Katherine is 10 years old, mate. Your eldest sounds like a little cutie.
We watched The Wizard of Oz at home a little while back, and then it suddenly popped up on the cinema listings. I practically dropped all tools and we bolted to the first screening I could find nearby. It was magnificent on the big screen — the technical marvels still hold up, especially the cyclone sequence at the start. Honestly, even by today’s standards it’s impressive. I’ve probably seen it over 20 times, and you?
Wow! I’ve seen it probably 10 times, but it has been a while since my last viewing. I look forward to seeing it with Rylan in a few years. It holds a special place in my heart when it comes to awe and fear. It’s a 180 from the Wicked package, haha!
Yeah, the funny thing is, Bernie — every time I watch it, it feels like a whole new movie. The scenes seem to reshuffle themselves with each viewing; it’s hard to explain. What you said about its extremes — awe and fear, good and evil — couldn’t be more true, and The Wizard of Oz shows all of that better than almost anything else. As for the Wicked movies… I’m unfamiliar, and I suspect it’ll stay that way. lol
I’m looking forward to seeing it. I’ve loved Bruce FOREVER.
Let me know what you think Polly. Have a great day.