‘Deliver Me From Nowhere’: Springsteen Biopic Divides Critics And Fans

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The new movie, Deliver Me From Nowhere, hits theaters this weekend. Directed by Scott Cooper, it tells the story of a pivotal and turbulent time in Bruce Springsteen’s life – the making of his 1982 album, Nebraska. While fans of “The Boss” will likely enjoy it, critics are divided, and the film hasn’t received the overwhelmingly positive response some expected.

Bruce Springsteen’s new film, Deliver Me from Nowhere, debuted at the Telluride Film Festival last month to a very strong and emotional response. Deadline magazine captured the overall excitement, calling it a refreshing change from typical music biopics and praising it as a thoughtful, unhurried look inside the artist’s mind.

The initial excitement surrounding this film is starting to fade, as many viewers feel it didn’t quite meet expectations. While Jeremy Allen White delivers a strong performance, critics and audiences alike have found several issues with the movie, and some media outlets have been particularly critical.

Jeremy Alan White Delivers, Even When The Film Is Failing To Do So

Even though audiences have issues with the movie, critics generally agree on one thing: Jeremy Allen White is fantastic. He’s widely praised for his deeply emotional and nuanced performance as Carmy Berzatto in the popular show The Bear. Many critics believe he’s delivered the Bruce Springsteen-like character we’ve all been waiting for.

Critics particularly praise Jesse White’s performance for capturing Bruce Springsteen’s energy and spirit without simply imitating him. His portrayal feels genuine, unlike the costumey impersonations often seen in music biopics. Rolling Stone describes White as “moody and mercurial,” and the LA Times notes he brings depth to the film, offering a true character study rather than just a biographical retelling.

According to The Guardian, White delivers a powerful and dedicated performance, perfectly capturing the strength associated with Springsteen’s public image. However, he also brilliantly reveals Springsteen’s hidden vulnerabilities and inner struggles, which grounds the film’s exploration of deeply personal and emotionally challenging themes.

Critics note that Jack White doesn’t try to sound like Bruce Springsteen. He avoids the typical growling vocals or showy performance style. Instead, he seems to be drawing on a more personal and thoughtful place, capturing the feeling of being worn down during the difficult Nebraska recording sessions. He comes across as someone lost in the process, unsure if these songs are helping or hurting him, mumbling while recording and constantly revising his work with a cigarette in hand.

Deliver Me From Mild Disappointment

Despite some initial positive reactions, Deliver Me From Nowhere hasn’t been universally praised. While the film currently has a ‘Fresh’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, its critic scores are moderate – 61% on that site and 60/100 on Metacritic. Most reviews are generally positive, but lean towards mixed or slightly negative.

The issue isn’t really with director Cooper’s bold decision to concentrate solely on the difficult recording sessions for Nebraska. The problem lies in how it was done. Beyond the absence of celebratory moments or scenes of the E Street Band enjoying each other’s company, some critics feel Cooper tried to do too much with the story, and it ultimately felt overambitious.

Critics haven’t been kind to the film. The Guardian called it an awkward and melodramatic portrayal of rock mythology, while the San Francisco Chronicle found it to be a relentlessly gloomy film with only occasional moments of brilliance. Even The New York Times, acknowledging the film’s good intentions, felt it was hampered by overly deliberate artistic choices.

Critics were particularly harsh on Looper, finding it fell into familiar biopic traps despite its potential. One review highlighted the film’s weak dialogue, calling it cliché-ridden and detrimental to character development. According to UPI, the film’s narrow focus actually emphasized these flaws, making the typical biopic clichés even more noticeable, as it didn’t attempt to cover the subject’s entire life.

So What About The Springsteen Stans?

While dedicated Bruce Springsteen fans will likely have the biggest impact on how the film is received, there’s a bit of a mixed reaction. The film blog World of Reel points out that critics are becoming less enthusiastic, and even shares some doubts of its own. Interestingly, the writer praises the book by Warren Zanes that the film is based on, calling it a “remarkable attempt to understand Springsteen’s inner world.”

I’m a massive Springsteen fan – I have all his albums, tons of bootlegs, and I’ve seen him in concert countless times. But honestly, this movie was just…average. It felt like it could have been so much better.

Okay, so I’m a big music fan, and I was reading Bob Lefsetz’s take on all the buzz around this artist. He didn’t hold back at all! He was basically saying, “Seriously? All that hype for this?” He was especially annoyed by how much the media talked about it after the festival – it felt endless, like everyone was acting like this was the second coming of Elvis! It was a pretty strong opinion, but honestly, I kind of get where he’s coming from.

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2025-10-24 18:09