As far as biopics go, “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” doesn’t quite find its rhythm. The Bruce Springsteen biopic is held back by a weak script, a distracting romantic subplot, and a lack of direction, but stellar turns from Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, and Odessa Young give Scott Cooper’s latest film some much-needed soul.
Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen in 20th Century Studios’ SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved
Directed by Scott Cooper, “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” attempts to break the traditional musician biopic mold by chronicling Springsteen’s creative journey during the making of “Nebraska,” one of the artist’s most intimate and haunting records, instead of encompassing his entire life story in a two-hour runtime. Unfortunately, the introspection gets buried under uneven storytelling and tonal uncertainty.
The film follows Springsteen (Jeremy Allen White) during his final tour stop promoting “The River.” That album was what made him one of the most popular musicians of the time, and the pressures of following it up with another hit weigh heavily on him. Fame doesn’t sit easily on Bruce’s shoulders, and his growing discomfort with commercial success leads him to retreat into solitude, trading sold-out arenas for the quiet isolation of a modest New Jersey home.
It’s clear that the small-town, blue-collar kid isn’t accustomed to fame as he struggles with identity. A simple car purchase scene reveals that Springsteen doesn’t know who he is as a person or artist. A dealer praises how the car fits someone like Bruce, saying, “I do know who you are.” Springsteen replies, “Well, that makes one of us.” The brief exchange perfectly sets the tone for what kind of biopic “Deliver Me From Nowhere” wants to be, reflective and intimate, but never quite as sharp as it needs to be.
Cooper’s approach to telling the story of an artist struggling to reconcile with fame, creativity, and self-reflection is something audiences have seen before. “Deliver Me From Nowhere” wants to be a meditation on identity and artistry, but its execution feels overly formulaic. Like most musician biopics, it follows the familiar beats of self-doubt, creative conflict, and pressure to stay true to one’s voice while facing a corporate system that values profit over authenticity. The label wants something radio-friendly. They want singles, promotion, and another tour. Springsteen wants none of that.
The tension between Springsteen and the label’s commercial expectations serves as an exploration of the creative process while exposing the weight of being part of a larger corporate machine. Although Cooper captures glimpses of that push and pull, the film rarely dives deep enough to make it feel urgent. It all feels familiar. The drama is real, but visually it plays like another made-for-screen story, with compositions and pacing that suggest turmoil without ever fully immersing the audience in it.
That turmoil ripples through Springsteen’s relationships with his manager and producer Jon Landau (Jeremy Strong), his fictionalized love interest Faye Ramano (Odessa Young), his parents Adele (Gaby Hoffmann) and Douglas (Stephen Graham), and ultimately with himself. Each relationship reflects a different facet of Bruce’s internal struggle. His creative partnership with Landau mirrors his artistic conscience. His romance with Faye, though invented for the film, represents the intimacy he cannot sustain. His strained connection with his father remains the most haunting emotional thread.
Despite its weak story, distracting romantic subplot, and uneven pacing, “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” still offers worthwhile performances. Jeremy Allen White delivers a restrained and quietly magnetic portrayal of Springsteen. He avoids impersonation, instead channeling the artist’s introspection and creative fatigue through subtle gestures and silences. His process, including drawing inspiration for “Nebraska” from his research on Charles Starkweather after watching “Badlands” and reading the short stories of Flannery O’Connor, grounds the film in genuine artistic curiosity. The camera lingers on the quiet, intimate moments of a man looking inward as he writes like he is running out of time.
Cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi leans into muted tones and long, deliberate takes that echo the stripped-down spirit of “Nebraska.” The visual stillness can be striking, but it occasionally crosses into monotony, slowing the film’s rhythm rather than deepening its emotion. Perhaps that is intentional, as it reflects Springsteen’s own creative isolation and the meditative pacing of his songwriting process. The unfortunate part is that the subplots distract from what could have been an otherwise great Bruce Springsteen biopic.
Still, the supporting cast lifts the narrative burdens off White’s shoulders. Jeremy Strong provides a steady counterpoint as Jon Landau, portraying the producer not as a domineering presence but as a compassionate collaborator who helps Bruce navigate his uncertainty. Odessa Young brings warmth to Faye Ramano, though her character exists more as a narrative device than a fully realized figure. Together, these performances add emotional texture to a film that otherwise feels distant and uneven, giving it moments of sincerity that hint at what “Deliver Me From Nowhere” could have been.
“Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” is a film with its heart in the right place but its rhythm slightly off. Scott Cooper’s reverence for Springsteen’s creative journey is undeniable, yet the film’s uneven storytelling and misplaced subplots keep it from fully capturing the soul of its subject. What lingers are the quiet moments, a man alone with his guitar, staring out into the horizon, reminders of the artist’s enduring humanity even when the film around him struggles to find its own.
7/10
