FILM REVIEW
SPRINGSTEEN: Deliver Me from Nowhere
RatedPG-13
120 Minutes
Released October 24th
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere was hard for me to watch because Bruce Springsteen has been a “player” in my life story since 1981. I don’t know him personally, but I feel he has been present in many ways on my emotional journey through his art. I’m also a big fan of Jeremy Allen White. So, as brilliant an actor as White is, I couldn’t look at him and see Bruce Springsteen, even if you put me under hypnosis.
White does carry an intrinsic angst himself, so he perfectly captures that in Springsteen’s character. He nails Springsteen’s emotional arcs and his passion for searching for meaning. Springsteen’s process of songwriting is addressed in a narrative way here. I have always felt that his artistic outpouring, despite his strong and tough style, was an overlay to the sensitive poetry contained in his music and the wail of emotion coming from his voice. His lyrics sometimes belie the meaning carved into the music.
The movie is a simple biopic centering on the period in Springsteen’s life when he returned from his 12-month River Tour at the age of 32, and he felt he needed “to get home and slow things down a little.”
He settles into a rented apartment in New Jersey, accompanied only by his guitar tech, “Mike Battan,” played superbly by Paul Walter Hauser, who seems to provide a patch of solid ground for the artist. This was a highly therapeutic artistic endeavor for him, and the songs he created for Nebraska were low key and plaintive, not his usual joyful, huge energy. He decided that because of the lonely and painful message of the songs, it was best to record them alone, with an acoustic guitar and a harmonica.
This music came from a troubled place in his heart, as the movie illustrates with painful scenes from his childhood, especially with his hard-drinking dad. Played convincingly and without judgment by Stephen Graham, “Doug Springsteen” was a bully with a softer side, of the type that was acceptable in the 1950s, and his anger and unpredictable behavior were a huge influence on his son. His mom was a legal secretary who was proud of her son’s artistic talent and bought him his first guitar. She is portrayed in the film by Gaby Hoffman.
It’s hard in a straightforward biopic to capture the kind of pain and catharsis that made up Springsteen’s childhood. The framework of the story skips back and forth through time, providing dramatized scenes from his life, a style I usually find distracting from really getting to know the character. Springsteen himself was on set frequently and provided notes for accuracy. As an artist himself, he knew he had to stay away when extremely dramatic scenes were shot.
This is director Scott Cooper’s seventh feature. He wrote and directed several excellent films from the past few years, including Crazy Heart (2009), Out of the Furnace (2013), Black Mass (2015), Hostiles (2017), and Antlers (2021). He grew up in the Appalachian Mountains before heading to New York to study acting. Later, he turned his focus to writing and directing.
White practically grew up playing “Lip” on Shameless. Through 134 episodes, he brought to life a character similar in many ways to Springsteen. He began acting in theatre as a child, trained as a dancer in tap, jazz, and ballet, and attended the Professional Performing Arts School in Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan. White handles Springsteen’s descent into depression adeptly. White learned to play guitar for the role, and Springsteen gave him a 1955 Gibson J-200 guitar to practice on.
The most important and pivotal relationship in this movie is that of Springsteen and “Jon Landau,” his loyal manager. Jeremy Strong, who plays Landau, is one of those actors who is such a chameleon that you may not recognize him from role to role. He is a theatre actor, Broadway and off-Broadway, and he was a member of the famed Chicago troupe, Steppenwolf. Cooper feels that Landau has always been Springsteen’s psychological pillar and describes him as “incredibly wise.” The real Jon Landau is a producer on this film.
For any Springsteen fan, and there are multitudes, this is a must-see for a more intimate understanding of what makes him tick as an artist and as a person. You will see a side of him that is unknown to many who attend his concerts, to be transported to a place of hope by his extraordinary presence and earthy songs.
Springsteen notes that his career is a journey and he’s taking his fans along as companions. One of those fans, former New Jersey governor / presidential candidate Chris Christie, recently wrote an excellent article on his life as a Springsteen superfan, published in the Free Press. Beginning in his teen years, Christie has attended over 150 Springsteen concerts!
Kathryn Whitney Boole has spent most of her life in the entertainment industry, which has been the backdrop for remarkable adventures with extraordinary people. She is a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kboole@gmail.com
