By Joel Williams 29/10/25
Music can be a personal look into the lives of the artists who play. Not created for money or fame but to tell a story and give snapshots into their emotions. Sadly music doesn’t always feel this way anymore, created for profit and not as a piece of art. Springsteen understood that notion, fame came with it but he wanted something real.
Jeremy Allen White in “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” Photo Credit: 20th Century Studios
“Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” is based upon the 2023 novel of the same name written by Warren Zanes and also takes excerpts from Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography Born to Run. It follows Bruce as he grapples with his place in life and struggles with depression as he writes his album Nebraska.
Written and directed by Scott Cooper, “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” stars Jeremy Allen White as the man himself.
Possibly the best looking biopic visually for me, I loved the natural warm tones that ooze off the screen with life and texture to them. Shot as a lonely figure cut into beautiful scenery gives a perfect contrast between life and Bruce’s mental state and spirals in depression. There’s a brightness to the rock scenes as Bruce performs to subdued hues as he writes in isolation. A contrast that excels when we pitch back and forth from the black and white scenes of Bruce’s childhood, shot from Bruce’s perspective to show us how he remembers the past and the pains it still causes him. Old school film vibes mixed with handheld shots that set this apart from your average biopic that is becoming an oversaturated market but this has enough to be fresh into it.
Set through a specific point in time and not a full life biopic, he’s already a star locally and in the wider USA, it’s a nice change of pace in this film space giving us an insight into the writing of a singular album and the emotions that go into it. The score compliments as a backdrop of his music but still lets the music take centre stage, listening to raw files of some of his most famous songs that are performed with the most uncanny resemblance by Jeremy Allen White that is exceptional especially since Springsteen has quite the unique voice. Been waiting for Allen White to get some starring roles in feature films and here he shows his acting prowess, he is fantastic in the role of Springsteen in particular his musical performing which I’m still pretty speechless about. He portrays the emotions of the songs he’s writing in such an authentic way and the difficulties in writing them, he wants art that can express his life and isn’t there to be subject to the demands of labels who want hits and that is it. Helped by a great performance by Jeremy Strong as Jon Landau, Bruce’s producer who, in a breath of fresh air in the music industry, wanted the best for Bruce and supported his decisions in the music he wanted to make and aided in helping him through difficult times.
Jeremy Allen White and Odessa Young in “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” Photo Credit: 20th Century Studios
At its core this has a mental health theme but yet it seemed far too safe in the story it was aiming to tell. I wanted more risks with this, some deeper exploration into the consequences of depression and how hard life becomes with it. We see a level of this but nothing any further than that, it’s the safe play and doesn’t detract an awful lot but this had every opportunity to go from good to great. A relationship with Faye played by Odessa Young that gives us small glimpses into the relational issues that can arise but there wasn’t enough of a deep dive into their relationship to pull off the emotional punch it aims to hit. Familial trauma is once again a small layer that we see through Bruce’s eyes with his father played by Stephen Graham who as always is great with any script he’s given. It’s a complicated relationship that is riddled with addiction and we see that yet it’s minor flashes we see in how it affected Bruce in his early life and how it still sticks with his in the present day.
Gorgeous to look at and music to enjoy however I can’t help but feel it played it a little too safe and could have taken greater risks in the story it wanted to tell. An enjoyable time for all but especially if you are a fan of Springsteen.
Releases in UK cinemas October 24
