Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere Mines Incredible Performances from its Scattershot Narrative
Image Courtesy of Twentieth Century Studios
By Luis Zonenberg
With the Halloween season already over, it seems Hollywood is now intent on rolling out the red carpet for Oscars season. This is that time of year where many Oscar-bait movies are released in hopes of receiving critical praise and accolades at numerous awards shows, most notably the Oscars. Disney decided to release a huge one right out of the gate, with director Scott Cooper’s Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.
The film focuses on singer Bruce Springsteen (Jeremy Allen White) wrapping up the River concert tour with his close friend, Matt (Harrison Gilbertson). Bruce tries to relax from the stress of the tour, reading some new books and performing with local bands at a music venue. His manager, Jon Landau (Jeremy Strong), constantly checks in on Bruce and tries to see if they can push his next album forward while the iron is still hot.
While Bruce is reading a book by Flannery O’Connor, he catches a glimpse of the 1973 crime drama, Badlands, which inspires him to research the serial killer Charles Starkweather, who inspired the film. This, in turn, inspires Bruce to start developing what would become the Nebraska album and suggests to Jon that he can record the demos himself to save money. At the same time, Bruce tries to manage his relationship with his girlfriend, Faye (Odessa Young) as well as the relationship between him and his parents.
Writer and director Scott Cooper was wise to focus on a piece of Springsteen’s life rather than to try to summarize it all in one film. Cooper really immerses the audience in the dark mindscape of Springsteen, diving into the lingering trauma that is still affecting him from childhood. This is all to a fault though, since the editing seems to skip through most of the emotional scenes that the story heavily revolves around.
The editing really creates a disconnect between the audience and the movie, creating an odd pacing that will certainly be challenging for most viewers. It makes the narrative seem more scattershot and repetitive than it was written, with some scenes feeling really out of place at times. I’m not too sure if there were troubles in the post-production process or if the edits were studio-mandated, but they distract from the narrative of the film.
Thankfully, the cast more than makes up for the editing mishaps with a slew of incredible performances across the board. Jeremy Allen White absolutely shines with his performance as Bruce Springsteen, bringing a lot of nuance and dedication to his portrayal. Jeremy Strong also helps anchor the film with his portrayal of Jon Landau, offering heart and sympathy which is relatable to the audience. Odessa Young, Paul Walter Hauser, Stephen Graham and David Krumholtz also added a lot of weight to the movie with their supporting roles.
The cinematography was also quite breathtaking to look at, even if it screams “Oscar-bait.” The use of lighting and shadows for the black and white sequences of the film beautifully contrasted the parts of the movie shown in color. Director Scott Cooper and company captured shots that felt both intimately warm and heartbreaking, with the visuals complementing the actors and adding a lot more emotional fuel to the fire.
Overall, the movie has its faults and is designed to be a typical platter that Oscar voters would enjoy. For me at least, the incredible performances and beautiful cinematography do outweigh the poor editing, with some parts of the story still working well enough to evoke some sympathy from the audience. The odd pacing and scattershot story will be troubling for some; nevertheless, Deliver Me From Nowhere offers some beautiful visuals and powerful performances, namely Jeremy Allen White’s portrayal of the titular artist, that should keep some viewers warm this holiday season.
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere is now playing in theaters.
Rating: ★★★ ½ of five
