Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, directed by Scott Cooper, is a film that gives audiences a look into what might be the darkest period of Springsteen’s life. It follows the musician as he works on Nebraska, a highly acoustic, unorthodox album. He was facing depression and wanted the album to have a certain magic to it, despite only being able to create this record in low-quality recordings he made using less than optimal equipment in his rented house. Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere does a great job of detailing certain aspects of Springsteen’s life, such as his problematic relationship with his father and his depression, although it is not a perfect film all around.

Bruce Springsteen has always been an artist I have respected, but was never my personal favorite musician. I heard his hits on the radio, such as “Dancing In the Dark” and “Glory Days,” and I was aware of his more obscure music, such as “Wrecking Ball” and “Something In The Well,” due to my dad being a big fan and playing Springsteen’s music in the car on many occasions. However, I had never made an extremely personal connection to his music, so going into the movie Springsteen: Deliver Me From Knowhere, I was not an expert on Springsteen’s sizable catalogue.

Jeremy Allen White, who plays Springsteen, gives a captivating performance that portrays Springsteen as depressed, motivated, and haunted by the memories of his father being abusive, and he does a great job showcasing these aspects of Springsteen’s personality. White’s performance is amplified by the supporting cast. John Landau, Springsteen’s manager, is played by Jeremy Strong. Landau is portrayed as unsure about Springsteen’s decisions regarding making uncommercial music; however, their relationship is shown to be strong, as Landau still wishes to preserve how Springsteen wants to release these recordings. Strong gives a powerful performance, able to convey Landau’s unsure feelings about Springsteen’s music, but also how Landau personally cares about Springsteen. Odessa Young plays Faye Romano, Springsteen’s girlfriend during when the recordings were made for Nebraska, and is able to perform the dramatic scenes very well, creating sympathy for her character due to the way she is treated by Springsteen.

This movie did a great job at showing the viewer Springsteen’s spiraling depression. As the movie progresses, we see Springsteen’s mental state declining, in scenes such as a flashback to Springsteen’s childhood where he interacts with his abusive father, a scene where he nearly has a breakdown in the studio, and an extremely memorable scene where he starts crying in a therapist’s office. However, in this therapy scene, a loudly mixed score playing in the background distracts from what may be the emotional climax of the movie. It isn’t bad, but in a movie about Springsteen, it feels excessive, and maybe some of his own music could have been used in its place. Considering his endless catalogue of music, there must have been something that fit.

The movie tries to show the viewer that releasing art can be hard when there are people who want to benefit commercially off your project, and while I think this movie does a better job at getting across its “anti-capitalist” message then other projects from recent years like The Studio and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story (where the people behind the projects have also done capitalist money grabs), I feel the movie may have exaggerated how unfavorably people reacted to Springsteen wanting to put out Nebraska in the state it was in. It wasn’t a wildly experimental album, just out of place.

I wish the movie had shown more of the public response to Nebraska. A large part of the movie was Springsteen and him working on his music; however, towards the end, the movie shifts focus to Springsteen’s depression and his personal life. While this was executed well, it left the impression that the original plot about making Nebraska was abandoned. The white text over a black background before the end credits explaining how things occurred in real life felt underwhelming and made the movie feel unfinished.

All in all, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Knowhere is a great look into Springsteen’s personal life, with quality acting and good direction. However, aspects of it, such as an unnecessary score and unsatisfactory ending, leave the film not quite reaching greatness.