“Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” was released in theaters Friday, Oct. 24. The musical biopic, which offered audiences a focused look at the life of legendary heartlands rocker Bruce Springsteen during his production of the highly acclaimed—and highly unexpected—sixth album, “Nebraska,” released in September of 1982. The film is based on a book of the same name written by author Warren Zanes and promised a more somber and introspective look at “The Boss,” as he came to be known, and the film certainly has its merits in terms of tone. But, in other ways this biopic falls disappointingly flat, especially considering the sheer presence of its subject matter.
To start, it must be addressed that most of the elements that make up “Springsteen” are quite competently done. Viewers will be hard pressed to find a poorly staged shot or an outright bad performance by any of its cast throughout pretty much the entire runtime. However, when dealing with a script that is as leisurely paced, as moody as this, mere competency isn’t always enough. The story plods along slowly, though not necessarily deliberately, with many scenes consisting of Jeremy Allen White, who plays the eponymous musician, lounging around his house or sitting in various diners while his agent does the talking. After too many scenes of exactly this, the narrative begins to drag, and without any particularly creative camera work or contrast, it sometimes fails to stay engaging.
In a movie with such light plotting, the characters become the primary weight bearers of theme and emotion, and this aspect of the movie was also disappointing. While Jeremy Allen White doesn’t feel hollow as Springsteen, he does feel decidedly untested, with precious few scenes really allowing him to deliver much of an impressive performance. It all feels too underscored, which may be the point considering the themes of depression and loss of self that take center stage, but an underscored performance still requires nuance of emotion and the subtle expression of feeling that White just can’t seem to give.
The supporting cast also leaves little of an impression, with Paul Walter Hauser, Stephen Graham, and Odessa Young—who plays the fictional love interest, Faye—delivering serviceable but dull performances that feel limited by a script that doesn’t give any of them much to work with. The only two exceptions to this pattern are Jeremy Strong as Springsteen’s manager and David Krumholtz as the oft-disparaged studio executive who prioritizes marketability over artistry. Strong, while reading from the same muted script as the rest of the cast, is able to deliver a performance that succeeds in its subtlety, save for one ham-fisted psychoanalysis of the troubled Springsteen to his wife, a paragraph of dialogue that makes it hard to believe anybody could have delivered it properly. Krumholtz owns what small amount of screentime he has, especially the scene in which his character first hears “Nebraska,” his incredulity radiating and really emphasizing just how risky a career move the album was for Springsteen at the time.
Much like the similarly paced Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” released in 2024, this movie will most likely appeal to already existing fans of Bruce Springsteen. Also like the former film, “Deliver Me From Nowhere” delivers on the premise of painting a portrait of a very complicated and prolific artist, as well as reveling in their music and the time in which they were in their creative prime. But, for those who don’t have a pre-established love of Bruce Springsteen, the premise may prove to be a much harder sell. Perhaps some moviegoers will find a kind of tranquility in following Bruce through his melancholy as he navigates his past and tries to find a future that makes sense. But for viewers in need of a faster pace and a little less introspection, “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” may come at too slow a pace to be worth the watch.
Quinn Berg is a Dakota Student Section Editor. He can be reached at [email protected].
