Don’t let the trailers fool you – this is not a rock and roll biopic in which we see Jeremy Allen White sweating it out while performing multiple big arena, rip-roaring, fist-pumping, Bruce Springsteen anthems. Although there are snippets of those scenes throughout the movie (and they are fantastic), that’s not what Deliver Me From Nowhere is about. Instead, director Scott Cooper focuses on a snapshot of time in the early 80s – right after The River tour and throughout the making of Nebraska. Springsteen has just come off the road in support of the former and, in an effort to figure out what’s next, holes up in a rented house in New Jersey to write the latter.
Every Springsteen fan knows that Nebraska was a huge departure from his previous work and that it was a gamble to release such a dark record just as he was on the cusp of becoming a worldwide superstar. Even though we know the album was successful, this film concentrates on how it provided the soundtrack for Springsteen’s struggle with depression as a result of a tumultuous childhood punctuated by an abusive father who suffered from mental illness that led to alcoholism. If that sounds like a lot it should – the movie shows harrowing black and white flashbacks of eight-year-old Bruce pulling his dad out of bars to come home and spend time with his family. His parents fight constantly as his mom (Gabby Hoffman) does everything in her power to protect her boy who has undeniable fear in his eyes every time his father lurches through the door. It’s horrible and sad and jarring. But it’s also raw and honest.
White brilliantly plays Springsteen similar to how he plays Carmen Berzatto on The Bear – a person wrestling with so many demons and so much family trauma it’s hard to know where to begin. Similar to Berzatto, this version of Springsteen is pensive, hurt, sad, and unsure of how to exist because there is so much backstory of his own life haunting him. In fact, the actor spends a lot of screen time sulking around the New Jersey rental trying to make sense of his character’s next record for which he decides to use home recording equipment to get his ideas on tape. What starts as a way to figure out his songs, as well as what is going on inside his head, turns into Springsteen recording an album that he demands his label releases as recorded. “I want it to feel like I’m in the room by myself.” That demand was a huge risk 40 years ago and White plays Springsteen with what I can only imagine was a similar urgency.
To make all of this happen, Springsteen gets more than a little help from his team – especially his epically loyal manager Jon Landau (an exceptional Jeremy Strong) who toils over ensuring that his star (and friend) gets what he wants regarding the production and release of the record while also trying to understand his process. The scenes where Landau works through what is happening with Springsteen by trying to explain it to his wife (an underused Grace Gummer) help the audience and enhance the narrative. “Bruce is a repairman. And what he’s doing with this album…is repairing that hole in himself. Once he’s done that, he’s going to repair the entire world.” Those scenes really flesh out how much Landau cares about his artist as he is a true friend and confidant who has Springsteen’s back – not a guy who is in it for the money. “In this office, my office, we believe in Bruce Springsteen.”
As for Springsteen’s love interest in the movie – Faye – I’ve read that her character is not a real person. Instead, she is a composite of multiple women the artist dated at the time. Played by Odessa Young, Faye is believable as a fan embarking on a relationship that she’s smart enough to realize might not go anywhere. A kindhearted girl (with a young daughter) who loves music and is impressed by Springsteen (at this point he’s big enough to be recognized but small enough to play at the hometown club aka the Stone Pony), she ends up getting hurt the most. Because he is not yet equipped to handle a relationship while working out his issues and recording an album, he’s not ready for her either.
So is the movie good? Yes, but people are going to be perplexed. Although I understand that not every movie about a musician or band is going to be Bohemian Rhapsody or Rocket Man, the question is why did the trailer feature the rollicking “Born to Run,” “Born in the USA,” and Stone Pony scenes? Cooper clearly went the Crazy Heart route with this film, so why not promote it for what it is – a nuanced look at Springsteen’s reasons behind the choices he made regarding Nebraska and how his rocky childhood informed his decisions (including getting professional help thanks to Landau). I assume using the concert scenes in the trailer helped sell more tickets but no one likes feeling duped. Deliver Me From Nowhere is a solid movie that highlights the life-saving changes one can make when they take care of themselves mentally and emotionally, but it’s not what I expected and I doubt it was what others expected either.
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