The Wasteland Reviewer

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025) Written Review

Who is Bruce Springsteen? If you are from the state of New Jersey, he is quite a big deal. But he isn’t just a star in his home of the Garden State. Due to his album “Born in the U.S.A”, he became a megastar. But it was not an easy road for “The Boss” to get to that point. Writer/director Scott Cooper takes the reins and tells the story of Springsteen and his struggle with his mental health, processing his childhood trauma, and the meticulous creation of his album “Nebraska”. Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere is the latest in a long line of music biopics gracing the silver screen. 

How does Cooper bring the story of Springsteen to life on screen? Cooper is known for his crisp, texture, and rich cinematic experiences. There is a richness and raw energy in so many of his projects and he brings that type of presentation to Deliver Me from Nowhere as well. This film looks gorgeous as it shifts from a crisp black-and-white of Springsteen’s past to the rich color and layers of his present. Cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi navigates sharp framing and block with a significant intimacy to deliver quite the raw and engrossing experience. Cooper knows when to leverage the works of Springsteen and injects them into some powerful moments along with a strong score from Jeremiah Fraites. The pacing of the film is a bit on the weaker side as this two-hour film does struggle to keep the audience’s attention. This is a heavy film with plenty of brooding and melancholy which also doesn’t help the pacing when so much of the film has the audience stuck in a depressive spiral with Springsteen. There is plenty of emotion, but it can get a bit exhausting as well. 

Does Cooper’s script translate Warren Zanes’s writing to tell Springsteen’s story and experience? The script is the most obvious weakness of the film as it struggles to muster up much of anything new or interesting. The dialogue is plain and blunt as it can be, leaving so many of the moments feeling clunky and awkward. When we should be processing some heavy and complex emotions, we are presented with the level of nuance and complexity of a teenager. There is plenty of potential emotion and complex themes to explore in Deliver Me from Nowhere, but they are squandered by an obvious and lacking script. Springsteen also comes off as an insufferable and annoying character instead of a vulnerable and empathetic artist. The insistence of pushing everyone away in the most cliché and clunky just gets more frustrating as things go on. There are some frustrating elements of shorthand as well especially with how mental health and therapy was handled. The making of the music is quite interesting, and those elements stand out well in the film. But it is hard to escape just who cliched this whole film feels.

Does Jeremy Allen White and the rest of the cast deepen the experience? One glaring issue that needs to be acknowledged is the horribly inconsistent and strange accent that White is channeling. The accent is so confused and off-putting at times that it takes away from the effectiveness of the film. Outside of the voice, White delivers a layered and deeply emotional performance. He just might get an Oscar nomination for the moment he finally comes to tears. White looks and sounds nothing like Springsteen but he captures the spirit of this man at least. Jeremy Strong is a great addition to the film as Springsteen’s manager and confidant. Their connection feels authentic and engaging. Strong has a unique presence in the film even when he is saddled with overexplaining Springsteen as a character throughout the film. Stephen Graham shines well as Springsteen’s abusive and alcoholic father and they share some powerful scenes in the film. There is a nice crew of character actors in the film as well who make their presence known including Paul Walter Hauser, Marc Meron, and David Krumholtz. Saddled with a weaker character, Odessa Young attempts to deepen her character the best she can. 

What type of feeling does Deliver Me from Nowhere invoke regarding Springsteen’s story? Frustration is quite an accurate one. This man is an iconic artist for the whole state of New Jersey and for many more fans as well. This film makes him feel like any other of the countless musicians highlighted in biopics like this. Cooper does deliver from a directorial standpoint but his script leaves so much to be desired. White delivers a strong central performance (minus the strange accent work) and he is an emotional anchor for the film. This film had a lot of potential to work with but instead is relegated to middling status.