In the past decade, the movie industry has seen an increase in biopics about musicians and famous bands, resulting in a large quantity of poor-quality biographical films. Some have been able to break free of this, such as in the case of James Mangold’s “A Complete Unknown” last winter.
Scott Cooper’s “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” (2025) could’ve been one of this year’s best films with a good lead performance from Jeremy Allen White. However, it does not expand enough on who Bruce Springsteen was in his early life, in which the film takes place.
“Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” is based on Warren Zanes’ “Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska,” published in 2023.
Both the film and the book detail Springsteen’s songwriting journey and the making of the album “Nebraska,” which was released in 1982. In the case of the film, Bruce’s childhood and relationship to his abusive father are explored.
Ultimately, what the film is about is depression and how Springsteen himself, portrayed by White, dealt with that as he started to become a global icon with his music career. The reason for “Nebraska” was Bruce had felt a sense of alienation from the people he knew, and he realized the success he had achieved did not bring him the home, family and connection he so desired.
White’s performance as Springsteen is the best part of “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.” He doesn’t try too hard to completely replicate Bruce’s mannerisms or the way he spoke and sang.
This works to his and the film’s benefit because it allows White to go beyond what might be written in the screenplay for Bruce’s role.
Jeremy Strong plays Jon Landau, who serves as Bruce’s longtime manager and producer, and has been a close associate of Bruce for almost 50 years.
Strong does not have as much screentime compared to White, and his part isn’t as impactful as one might expect, especially if they’re fans of his role as Kendall Roy in HBO’s “Succession” (2018-2023).
Regardless, Strong still delivers a performance that adds depth to the film. This can be said for other actors in the film, including Stephen Graham as Bruce’s father, Douglas Springsteen.
Many of Graham’s scenes include him staring off into nothing while smoking a cigarette and maybe having a drink at a bar. Other times, he’s shown to be verbally and physically abusive toward Bruce Springsteen as a child and his mother, Adele Springsteen (Gaby Hoffman).
Including Bruce Springsteen himself, all of the characters are one-note in this film. They rarely have moments of levity between themselves or others. People in real life are nuanced, and it’s a shame this film did not have better writing to establish the complexity of these characters.
The film suffers the most with its script. The screenplay feels unfinished and needs polishing. Some storylines have an interesting setup that goes without a satisfying payoff.
“Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” needed better writing that emphasized the humanity in larger-than-life figures like Bruce Springsteen. White is good in the role, but does not feel like a complete person. A feeling that permeates through all of the writing in the film.
Fans of White’s work will likely find his performance to be the only thing worth seeing when it comes to this film. Take him out, and there’s a film that may look nice on the outside but is pretty hollow in depth.
Rating: 2.5/5
