Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere Can't Deliver Itself from Familiarity
Here's yet another biopic that's indiscernible from all the others. Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere isn't a birth-to-death biopic. It's a birth to rise of a career flick. It's superior to the Bob Dylan flick with Timothée Chalamet, which was just two hours of people playing songs to each other. Sure, there was more to it, but not much if you trim the overly long musical interludes. Springsteen's movie might be better than that, but that isn't saying much.
Like everyone with every childhood trauma, Bruce Springsteen (Jeremy Allen White) is driven by the abuse of his father, Douglas (Stephen Graham). The picture starts with a black and white flashback to when Bruce was a kid, as a drunk, neglectful dad comes home to terrorize his family. We then cut to a modern-day Bruce, whose trajectory towards success begins to take off. Yes, daddy issues are a real problem that shouldn't be ignored, yet it's the entire basis for every movie about emotionally withdrawn artists. It's Dewey Cox's father, rewrapped in another biopic that Walk Hard was making fun of for being overdone 17 years ago. At this point, one might think to take notice and say something different. Everyone has daddy issues. At what point does it stop being a dynamic narrative storytelling device and become more of a tired convention?
At least the picture has some great tunes and isn't overly reliant on long musical performances to show how Bruce came up with his music. There are the cliché scenes of Bruce sitting down, then getting inspired by something that makes him create a classic. Then there are the scenes where Bruce is introducing a novel concept for his album that nobody understands except for him. Even as a semi-Bruce Springsteen fan, it's hard to get fully on board with a movie where one could listen to Bruce's music and get just as much out of the picture.
Jeremy Allen White plays the tortured character well. The pain White brings to the protagonist in The Bear is palpable. For this film, it's clear why director Scott Cooper cast White. Cooper isn't doing the thing directors usually do, where they simply cast a look-alike. Cooper cast JAW because he can bring that inner turmoil that the character is feeling on the screen, where it doesn't feel manufactured. White does a subtle impersonation of Bruce Springsteen, but his real performance is in his nuances. The way he barely smiles and is extremely reserved is what the script asked for, and Jeremy Allen White delivers. When it comes to the vocals, the film does a good job of dubbing Bruce's songs. If that actually was Jeremy Allen White singing is highly unlikely since he's an actor. Not a singer. If I'm wrong, then, wow!
It's also refreshing to see Jeremy Strong play something other than a despicable monster. Strong is either a nepo baby jerk, Roy Cohen, or an abusive father (told you it was a lame storytelling mechanic). Here, Jeremy Strong plays the empathetic manager who's also Bruce's friend. The love interest of the film provides a servicable performance, but nothing that will have you remembering Odessa Young's name after the credits roll. One of the best performances in the movie is from Stephen Graham. He doesn't just play an object of intimidation. Graham is sensitive, hurt, and weak. He's more of a three-dimensional depiction of the commoner who succumbs to cruelty, taking out their frustrations in life through those who love them, than a cardboard cutout booze hound.
The film frequently cuts between Bruce in the heydays of his career to when he was a kid, which brought something to mind. Why hasn't anyone ever made a movie about an artist's childhood experiences exclusively? Don't cut to them making a famous album, dealing with their past, or even being an adult. If you want your audience to feel Bruce's suffering, focus on his childhood. Maybe someone has made that film before. Even so, it would offer a fresher take than the trite content this movie produces.
There are things to like. The movie isn't too long. Mostly. The cinematography features a nice, wide color scale that beautifully captures the coldness of its setting, both physically and emotionally, and Bruce Springsteen is not a perfect person in the film. At one point, he makes a decision in the picture that will make you want to scream at the screen. Bruce Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere comes close to another hero worship film, but luckily, it has enough honesty to keep itself from doing so. If only the script had more depth than the old "getting away from my father" angle. The movie had the potential to end beautifully. Still, it just had to have a predictable final scene, which might make you wonder when it will be available on streaming, saving you from spending a lot of money on a movie ticket.
