Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere Review

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere features a strong performance from Jeremy Allen White, but there’s little Springsteen in this Springsteen biopic.

An element that will confuse those who have even a little knowledge of Springsteen’s life – and one that is not present in Warren Zanes’s book, from which the film was adapted – is bound to be the character of Faye (Odessa Young, of Shirley), whom the film introduces as a waitress and fan that Bruce starts dating in the 80s but that is actually a fictional character, as Springsteen never had a girlfriend with that name. Yet surprisingly, this aspect of the screenplay doesn’t hurt the film. On the contrary, Faye’s character enables writer-director Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) to show us a side to Bruce that feels true to who he is, and that comes from a real place. It’s through this fictional relationship that we start to understand Bruce’s very much real struggles to open up and form relationships, in a series of earnest and tender scenes that also allow the filmmaker to take us to Asbury Park, New Jersey, a place that feels interconnected with the singer himself.

But Deliver Me from Nowhere also wants to tackle other themes, and that’s where most of the film’s flaws lie. Before we meet Faye or even see the Boss perform, the movie makes it a point to show us young Bruce as a child (Matthew Pellicano Jr.), in one of many short black-and-white scenes that see him interact with his father, Doug (Stephen Graham, of Boiling Point). It’s no secret that Bruce Springsteen suffered trauma as a child, and has struggled with depression for most of his life: the singer has spoken about this on many occasions, including his own autobiography, and the topic has been approached in great detail by many documentaries and in interviews. Not only that, but there’s a poetry in his lyrics and music that conveys so much more than any books or movies ever could, with a specific rawness that positions us right there with him, in the same emotional place, as we listen.

The decision to tie Bruce’s struggles with fame and creativity to his childhood trauma recalls another recent biopic, Michael Gracey’s Better Man, which explores the rise, fall, and rebirth of Robbie Williams alongside the star’s complicated relationship with his dad. But while Better Man succeeds at balancing these themes and presenting them in a way that provides real insight on its protagonist, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere sadly does not, favoring clichés and stereotypes over any potential for genuine emotion.

Those black-and-white flashbacks are shown to us as Bruce’s memories that resurface when he isolates himself in a house in Colts Neck to work on the album’s individual tracks, which, together, would showcase a very different sound than what his fans had heard up till then. But instead of authentic insight into Bruce’s childhood, we get stilted dialogue and surface-level characterization that fail to establish a connection between the audience and the film’s protagonist and themes. A scene in particular sees young Bruce hit his father with a bat as the former is having an argument with his wife (Gaby Hoffman’s Adele Springsteen), to which his dad turns around, looks at the child, and says “That’s right; never let anybody hurt your mama.” Even the superb Stephen Graham can’t rescue the film from these kinds of lines, which “tell” instead of “showing” and make Bruce’s dad feel not like a flawed, multi-faceted, authentic person, but rather, a stereotypical “villain” with no real motivation or depth.

“Bruce Springsteen the songwriter” gets better characterization in the film, and the most compelling part of Deliver Me from Nowhere is watching some beloved songs come to life, both in terms of the exact inspirations that the Boss drew on and in his determination to never stop fighting for what he believed in. There’s also some insight on the music industry itself, as we get to watch how exactly Bruce’s unorthodox recording method influenced the production of the album.

This part of the film also features Springsteen’s manager and co-producer Jon Landau, played by Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice). Strong, who is usually fantastic in everything he does, gives a puzzling portrayal here, not only for an accent that doesn’t really resemble the way Landau actually speaks but also, and most of all, for the theatricality of the performance itself.

Jeremy Allen White, on the other hand, excels; he’s the reason why we’re still engaged even when the film is at its most predictable and clichéd. Still, I’m not sure the casting was right here, as despite a technically flawless performance, White doesn’t look, sound, and move like Bruce Springsteen. The first rendition of “Born in the U.S.A.” is one of the best scenes of the whole film, and a line about the producers “believing in Bruce Springsteen” got a cheer from the audience at my screening, so there are some satisfying moments in Delivery from Nowhere, and White plays a big role on their impact. Still, the differences with the real-life singer still make it hard to watch the movie and immediately know that we’re watching Bruce Springsteen, which ultimately hurts our immersion.

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere had the potential to be a fantastic biopic, but despite a few highlights, it unfortunately ends up being mostly forgettable, particularly to those who are already familiar with the singer’s life. Springsteen fans might still find something to enjoy, such as the locations, production design, and insight into the Boss’s creative process, but those who will probably enjoy it the most, especially thanks to an impressive performance from Jeremy Allen White, are the uninitiated.

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere was screened at the BFI London Film Festival on 15-18 October, 2025. The film will be released in U.S. theaters, in U.K. and Irish cinemas, and globally in theaters on October 24, 2025.