Title – Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)
Director – Scott Cooper (Out of the Furnace)
Cast – Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Stephen Graham, Paul Walter Hauser, Odessa Young
Plot – Explores the making of Bruce Springsteen’s (White) famed 1982 album Nebraska.
“These new songs, they’re the only thing making sense to me right now”
Review by Eddie on 28/10/2025
In a day and age where audiences have become accustomed to decades spanning musical biopics that are bombastic and large (Rocketman/Elvis), full of melodrama and set pieces (Bohemian Rhapsody), loaded with drama and romance (Walk the Line/Ray) or seem hellbent on awards (A Complete Unknown), Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere stands out like a sore thumb as a bravely unconventional experience that doesn’t seem to care if it pleases the broader crowd.
Adapting Warren Zanes 2023 book of the same name while also incorporating elements of Bruce Springsteen’s own autobiography, with Springsteen being actively involved in the making of and promotion of this feature, Hostiles and Black Mass director Scott Cooper has zoned in on a very particular time in Springsteen’s career where the set to be superstar struggled with his own personal demons, while coming to terms with his career as he set about creating what would become his famed 1982 album Nebraska.
Those seeking a childhood into modern day and age biopic or a deep dive into Springsteen’s decades spanning career/mindset will undoubtedly be disappointed by Cooper’s approach here if they’re unwilling to go along with the films very carefully curated set-up and pay-off’s but Cooper’s humanistic look at a human being, who just so happens to be a budding musical legend, is an emotionally powerful and impressive drama that allows its leading man to shine in his biggest feature film role yet.
Launching himself in cult favourite show Shameless, reaching A-list status thanks to ongoing hit TV series The Bear and making a mark with a key role in recent wrestling drama The Iron Claw, Jeremy Allen White is a quiet and softly spoken revelation here getting to play the vulnerable and wounded “Boss”, in a performance that hopefully gains some recognition in the upcoming awards season.
First appearing in a sweat covered fever mid-performance in front of thousands of adoring fans, Allen proves instantly that he has what it takes to embody the classic Springsteen energy and persona that will be familiar to anyone who’s ever seen the Born in the USA megastar in passing but as the film begins to show its true hand, one that is much more low-key and intimate than expectations many will have, Allen’s true power shines through, bringing to life a tortured and fragile soul trying to connect with himself, others and his art.
Surrounded by a talented cast that includes solid turns from reliable and proven performers such as Jeremey Strong as Springsteen’s confidant and manager Jon Landau, Paul Walter Hauser as engineer Mike Batlan, Stephen Graham as Bruce’s complicated father Douglas and Australian ex-pat Odessa Young as Bruce’s fictional love interest Faye Romano, it’s White that stands out amongst the crowd in a performance that is far from showy but has a depth and range that few current day performers could muster.
Lacking a genuine big conflict or narrative arc than many viewers would require as a mandatory component for them to feel as though there’s something for them to invest themselves in across a two-hour running time, Deliver Me from Nowhere is unarguably a film that isn’t going to engage everyone the same way, more than evident in the films mixed critical reception and disappointing early box-office receipts, but if viewers can escape the fact this is far from a stereotypical music biopic and more so a warts and all exploration of the human condition we all come face to face with, Cooper’s film should create a powerful experience that culminates in its final scenes with some of the year’s most breathtakingly impactful moments.
Final Say –
An unexpectedly confined and intimate exploration of a famed figure that is sure to displease those seeking an all-encompassing Springsteen biopic or a showy Hollywoodization of an icon, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere offers a captivating and moving character drama for any viewers open to its approach.
4 loose cassette tapes out of 5
Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys) 
I really like your review. Firstly because it hits the nail on the head by zooming in on the film’s strong points, and perhaps also because I was less complimentary about this film, which nevertheless remains in my memory as a director’s endearing tribute to an inspiring artist. For Cooper, the main problem was finding significant dramatic material in the bio of the Boss, whose artistic and personal trajectory is by far exemplary. There’s this story with the father, undoubtedly one of the most successful parts, but I’m not at all convinced by this ephemeral romance that Cooper treats in his usual way: with a lot of pathos. But there are the songs, which are films in themselves (as I wrote in my review). They give this low-profile biopic the power it needs to pull itself out of nowhere.
Thanks mate. I do agree the dramatic material wasn’t what you usually expect from such a film as Bruce’s life arguably didn’t have that typically intense and “big” things to explore.
I think I was surprised how effective this film was for me as a really intimate exploration of a man trying at the core level to find peace in himself and what he was wanting from his life.
E
I think the intention is not far from what Gus Van Sant did for “Last days”, but in a different style.
Great point mate! Bit of a forgotten flick that one.
E