DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE Starts Off Aimless and Boring, Then It Gets Much Worse (Review)

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The first hour of Deliver Me From Nowhere is easily forgettable – a standard, unremarkable musical biopic. Surprisingly, it’s the strongest part of the film. Writer-director Scott Cooper takes a compelling story about Bruce Springsteen creating a meaningful album and turns it into a confusing and pointless experience. The movie lacks a clear timeline and mostly consists of shots of Springsteen looking at his notes. Unfortunately, it goes downhill from there. The film doesn’t reveal its true subject or purpose until a chaotic final 20 minutes, which hints at the significance of this period in Springsteen’s life. Ultimately, the movie seems uninterested in telling that story.

The official description for Deliver Me From Nowhere isn’t wrong, exactly, but it’s completely misleading. Here’s what 20th Century Studios says about it:

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere tells the story of how Bruce Springsteen created his 1982 album, Nebraska. It shows him as a rising star grappling with the challenges of fame and his personal history.

The movie doesn’t really explain why the main character is battling his past and present challenges. In fact, it struggles to develop any ideas fully. We understand he had a difficult childhood with an abusive father, but the film never connects that trauma to his career or current life. Like everything else, it simply tells us things are true instead of showing us. It’s a lazy approach that assumes you already know a lot about the subject (defeating the purpose of a biopic!) or that details don’t matter. The movie doesn’t bother with basic explanations – we don’t know who people are, how long they’ve known each other, or even how much time has passed between scenes. It avoids explaining anything, developing its characters, or telling a compelling story.

The movie has a strange moment where Bruce unexpectedly has a sister in a flashback, even though he’s always presented as an only child. This sister is never mentioned again, which is unintentionally funny. It’s a good example of the script’s larger problem: it doesn’t establish basic story elements effectively. Also, a memorable line from the trailer – Bruce promising to “repair the entire world” – doesn’t actually appear in the film.

The movie occasionally includes a few lines of dialogue so terrible, I couldn’t help but let out a groan-laugh – that was the strongest reaction I had to it. However, the last twenty minutes were filled with anger and disgust, overshadowing any amusement I initially felt.

Watching Deliver Me From Nowhere feels like briefly glimpsing the lives of fascinating people, but never getting to know any of them well. This is what’s most disappointing about the film. It doesn’t tell a compelling story about a legendary musician, and it overlooks potentially great stories happening right around him. We don’t learn what it’s like to manage a troubled genius or to be in a relationship with one. The film occasionally hints at more interesting stories told from other perspectives, and you wish it would just focus on those instead.

This film was incredibly confusing and lacked any real substance. It felt like it was trying to redeem itself with a last-minute reveal, but it just didn’t work. I was hoping for a story about an artist using their work to cope with personal issues – something I usually enjoy. However, this movie wasn’t actually about the creative process at all. It focused on a character with a problem that wasn’t hinted at throughout the film, and then was suddenly revealed at the very end. It was a disaster. Several people walked out of my screening, and I completely understood why – I felt the same way.

The film has some definite strengths. It’s particularly interesting how it portrays Bruce Springsteen’s abusive father, Doug, played by Stephen Graham. While most biopics would paint Doug as simply evil, this film shows him with surprising humanity and understanding—though that impact is somewhat lessened when the film later reveals there was more to the story. This nuanced portrayal, acknowledging Doug’s flaws while still recognizing his humanity, feels true to Springsteen’s own approach to finding the good in everyone.

Jeremy Strong gives a fantastic performance as Jon Landau, Bruce Springsteen’s longtime manager and friend. Their connection is the most fully explored relationship in the film. Odessa Young also shines as Faye, a character inspired by women in Springsteen’s life during that period.

Despite a weak script, the lead actress is good. The film repeatedly claims a character is keeping her partner at a distance, but we never actually see any evidence of that. Before the characters start talking about their issues, their scenes together are charming. It’s frustrating because the movie tells us things are happening instead of showing us, and all of its supposed depth feels superficial. Calling it shallow would be generous; it’s aggressively dull and lacks substance.

I never found Jeremy Allen White convincing as Bruce Springsteen – not even for a moment. He’s not a bad actor, and could have been good with a stronger script, but his performance just didn’t quite land. It ended up being the fifth most enjoyable part of the film, which overall wasn’t very good – the music was the highlight, and the movie as a whole was the low point.

While Deliver Me From Nowhere focuses on a talented musician, if you’re curious about a truly intimate Bruce Springsteen album, Nebraska is the better choice. This film actually detracts from your enjoyment of the record, and may even leave you with a less favorable view of movies in general.

Deliver Me From Nowhere ⭐ (1.5 of 5)

Okay, so I just stumbled across something really cool and had to share. This writer, Mikey Walsh – you can find him on Bluesky as @burgermike, by the way – over at TopMob pointed me towards Pete Yorn’s live cover of “Atlantic City,” and it’s amazing. Seriously, go check it out. Also, apparently he’s really into ranking the Targaryen kings, so if you’re into that kind of thing, you might find him in those corners of the internet too!

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2025-10-21 18:04