First, let's think about the title. It demotes the title of Warren Zanes's book, subtitled The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska, into this film's own subtitle. Wouldn't Deliver Me from Nowhere be sufficient as a title? For one thing, they are the last lyrics of Springsteen's Open All Night. For another, it's a thematically appropriate quote.
But that's just me.
Anyway, it's 1981, and The Boss decides to lay low in his hometown of Freehold, NJ. His own bosses want him to get on with his next album right away. Inspired by Terrence Malick's Badlands, Bruce decides to write a song from the POV of its real-life inspiration, spree killer Charles Starkweather, which ends up being Nebraska's titular song. His recording engineer, Mike Batlan (Paul Walter Hauser), helps setup a recording studio at his rental home, complete with a multitrack recorder. What results is an album that sounds as rough as its lyrics, and that's how he prefers it.
Along the way, we get to see the genesis of his biggest smash, Born in the USA, when Paul Schrader sends him a script by that name (filmed as Light of Day in 1987). But that, and a few others, have to wait while he gets Nebraska and its gloomy songs out of his system. His manager, Jon Landau (Jeremy Strong), helps sway the record label to allow Bruce to work. Bruce starts a relationship with Faye Romano (Odessa Young), a former classmate's sister and single mom, which ends badly when he prioritizes his work. We also get to see what goes on in cutting a studio album.
Finally, we get plenty of childhood flashbacks of his father, Douglas (Stephen Graham), whose alcoholism made life difficult for the future superstar. Sure, he'd let Bruce (Matthew Anthony Pellicano Jr.) skip school so they can catch Night of the Hunter at the cinema, but he and his wife, Adele (Gaby Hoffmann), spend most of their time together violently arguing. One such argument sees Bruce whack Douglas with a bat, which actually amuses the old man. Their contentious relationship is literally all in the past when the old man shows up befuddled in the present. I think we missed a few connective scenes there.
The sound team might have slipped in a few of The Boss's vocals in there, but where? White's Springsteen imitation is almost indistinguishable from the man himself. His performances, particularly that of Born in the USA, enliven the film. He's quite sympathetic as he works through his tortured soul; it's especially so when he breaks down during therapy. The overall conflict is simple, but his quest to express himself through his music is pretty admirable. Though, it might be a bit hard to recognize Bruce's struggle with depression until the film's epilogue spells it out (maybe it was me).
The film leaves out quite a bit about Bruce's relationship with his dad, but you can sense a lot in Douglas's weariness when he first enters the main plot. Yes, Graham can be quite scary as Douglas, but you rarely doubt his niceness. Sure, I had some reservations about the cinema trip, but that was it. It's kind of surprising to realize that Douglas and Adele were still married when Bruce started out (said marriage ended in 1998 with his death). Writer/Director Scott Cooper probably should have clarified stuff like that better.
What else do we have? Strong, Young and Hauser are mostly fine in their roles. Harrison Gilbertson, as Matt Delia, is mostly noticeable when he helps Bruce move to L.A. Springsteen's sister, Virginia, appears as a kid in one scene, which is the only time she's even acknowledged (why include her at all, then?). Watching his creative process, from inspiration to songwriting and sound recording, is pretty interesting. It's especially intriguing to watch Chuck Plotkin (Marc Maron) and his fellow engineers try to "salvage" Bruce's rough recordings. It didn't occur to me who played Adele, or how old she was compared to White, until a few days later. She looked about as old as her on-screen husband, a testament for the surprisingly good makeup team.
Sure, a film about the making of Born in the USA might be a more "cinematic" movie. Deliver Me from Nowhere is still a pretty interesting, though not perfect, insight into one of the Boss's most underrated albums. See it if you're that curious. If you want a film of his hits, let me remind you that Blinded by the Light, a film about his impact on one fan, exists. You should check it out sometime. I think I said enough.
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