Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere Review: Jeremy Allen White Shines in Powerful Biopic

Jeremy Allen White (The Bear, The Iron Claw) stars in the latest musical biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, a film about the legendary Bruce Springsteen's process creating the iconic album "Nebraska".

Synopsis:

On the cusp of global superstardom, New Jersey rocker Bruce Springsteen (Jeremy Allen White) struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past as he records the album "Nebraska" in the early 1980s.

Cast:

Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Stephen Graham, Odessa Young, Paul Walter Hauser

Release Date:

In Theaters Now

Jeremy Allen White's Oscar Moment

Credit: 20th Century Studios

When you are making a musical biopic about one person, the casting of the title role is always the most important thing to the success or failure of the film. You could do everything else right, but if the main actor doesn't fully commit, it'll fail. Thankfully that was not the case here - Jeremy Allen White is the absolute standout of the entire movie. There's obviously just general good acting in there, but the most impressive thing is the clear effort he put in to making the singing parts as realistic as possible. You could close your eyes and be convinced that Bruce Springsteen was playing himself in this biopic. Those extended musical sequences are actually a smaller portion of the film and his real time to shine as an actor is the more emotional moments. We'll get into all of that in depth throughout this review, but he shows his incredible acting chops at every turn. It's a role that makes you root and relate to the main character, something that I'm sure Springsteen himself couldn't be any happier to see. White absolutely deserves to receive awards recognition for this role and I think this is finally his breakout moment as one of the most talented stars of his generation.

As for the supporting cast, it's also a delight. Jeremy Strong will receive the most praise and I can't argue with that distinction. He plays Springsteen's manager, bringing a level of love and care around the musician's every move. He's there for Bruce at every moment and really is the emotional backbone of his life. There's some really emotional moments, especially towards the end, with White and Strong that show both actors shining as much as they possibly can. Their dynamic is incredibly sweet and there's a moment towards the end that had me tearing up. I'd have to check back in at the end of the year before I say that Jeremy Strong is a lock for one of my best supporting performances of the year, but I certainly won't complain about people already pegging him for a nomination. Paul Walter Hauser is having an incredible year, with The Fantastic Four: First Steps and The Naked Gun already showcasing his standout comedy over the summer, and in this movie once again he's always a delight to see on screen. More on Odessa Young and Stephen Graham's great performances later!

Smaller Spectacle Allows For Personal Story

Credit: 20th Century Studios

The one thing that separates this musical biopic compared to ones we've seen before is that the actual scale of it is very small and grounded. Comparing it to something like A Complete Unknown, which I also loved, it doesn't have the many extended musical sequences and it's significantly shorter. However, this allows us to get a much more personal story past just the simple idea of Bruce as a musician. We really get a close look into his personal life and where he came from. The entire movie focuses on Bruce's attempt to connect with his personal roots with the creation of the album "Nebraska". I absolutely love how the filmmakers made it so the music mirrored his real life situation. We see in real time him crafting the album around parts of his life and that made me incredibly invested in the creation of the album itself. At first I wasn't sure how I'd enjoy the film without any huge spectacles, but the way it plays out completely gripped me. It really makes you root for Bruce throughout the whole film and you'll leave it with a lot more respect than you had for him before.

One way his personal life is played out is with the flashbacks to his testy relationship with his father, played by Stephen Graham. Although this is a clear lead-in to his mental health struggles, we also are able to see how Bruce puts this relationship into the album. We also get to see them at points in the present, showing Bruce's incredible loyalty and love for his family no matter what's happened in the past. Graham plays a villain for most of the movie and does good at that, but the real impressive part of the performance comes in the final scene of the entire film. It's a scene that anyone who's ever had a problematic relationship with their father will appreciate and feel an emotional reaction to. I have incredible respect for both the filmmakers and Bruce himself for not shying away from this sensitive point in his life. It turned into one of the most impactful storylines of the film and it again becomes such a powerful mirror to the album.

Realistic and Emotional Depiction of Love

Credit: 20th Century Studios

Another thing you may not expect when sitting down to watch a Bruce Springsteen movie - a deep and realistic depiction of love. It's obviously not the main focus of the film, but it again goes back to the fact that the album is a reflection of Bruce's personal life. It becomes one of those classic love stories: we see the two fall in love, begin to make incredible memories together and then it all comes crashing down due to the struggles in one of their personal lives. You can tell Bruce has these genuine feelings for her, but he has no idea what to do with them and he's generally afraid of them. We can clearly see that dynamic due to the incredible acting from White and it became a relationship that I was very invested in. Odessa Young is exceptional as his girlfriend, bringing some real heart and the emotion towards the end of the film. You really can't help but feel awful for her because of how much realness she brings to her performance. I'm totally serious when I say I'd watch a full movie about their romance, but they play it out in this film the perfect amount and it ends on a note that feels much in line with Bruce's character arc.

Mature Exploration Of Mental Health

Credit: 20th Century Studios

The thing I may have appreciated the most out of this film was its incredibly mature exploration of mental health. I personally had no idea Bruce struggled so much with these things and it gave this film much more of an emotional backbone than I was expecting. The best part about it is that the filmmakers are so careful with making sure it actually feels like a realistic depiction of his problems. The problems are not right in your face in the beginning and in fact, there's a chance you may not even notice that he's dealing with them until later in the film. It's a slow build up that perfectly showcases what mental health is really like for people of all shapes and sizes. This comes to an absolute peak towards the end of the film, which ends on such a beautiful moment for anyone who has ever felt anxious about asking for help. It really emphasizes that relationship between Strong and White. As I said before, their final moment began to leave me an emotional wreck just breaking down all the deeper meanings of the scene. With so many films these days that deeply misunderstand mental health, I really applaud everyone involved for being so careful with portraying it and Bruce himself for being so open about these problems. This was another part of that emotional backbone I mentioned and just continued to emphasize how special this movie is.

Final Thoughts

I had somewhat high expectations for this film and it blew all of them clear out of the water. As someone who didn't grow up listening to a ton of Bruce Springsteen, I still enjoyed this an incredible amount and left respecting him a lot more than I did before. I really hope this gets the awards love it deserves from an acting and filmmaking perspective. Go see this movie!

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Editor's Note: I've only included the top 20 from my 2025 new releases list, for editing purposes.