Nebraska is one of the most mythological albums of all time — and the process in which it was created is highly unconventional. Warren Zane’s book, Deliver Me From Nowhere, strives to get to the heart of the process and why Springsteen did what he did, coming off the back of The River tour — a double album full of ballads, rock anthems, and containing his first Billboard Top 5 entry, Hungry Heart, and following it up with a bare-bones, dark acoustic album, containing deeply personal lyrics and explorations of the dark side of Americana.
Zane explores the Nebraska creation with aplomb, diving deep into the album’s grooves and the recording process, as well as its commercial considerations and place in Springsteen’s life at the time.
What can be explored profoundly in a written text, however, doesn’t always translate the same way to screen.
Scott Cooper’s Deliver Me From Nowhere wants you to know the HOW of Nebraska, with lots of time spent in the studio and with Springsteen’s manager Jon Landau, played exquisitely by Jeremy Strong, but it never really gets down to the WHY.
Early in the film, we see Springsteen watching Terrence Mallick’s Badlands and researching the Starkweather killings, then writing the song Nebraska. But it’s hard to interpret on screen his inner thoughts, how the film influenced him and why he connected to the Starkweather situation, which the book does in immaculate detail.
Instead, using a black-and-white framing device of Springsteen’s childhood memories, the film wants you to believe the primary motivation for every song is that. When he’s writing Mansion on The Hill, you guessed it, there’s a cut to young Bruce running around near a mansion… on a hill.
Jeremy Allen White is satisfactory as Springsteen. There are some moments where he sounds just like him – while performing Born to Run near the start of the film and in most of the Nebraska tracks. But in others, it’s clearly not Bruce’s voice. Which as someone whose heard these songs hundreds upon hundreds of times, and is a die-hard fan, I did notice.
Maybe that’s too harsh a criticism as nobody will ever be 100% spot-on, and I doubt many casual fans will notice, but there weren’t many moments I was convinced I was watching Bruce Springsteen the way I was watching Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.
Stephen Graham is great as Springsteen’s father; which contributes much to the emotional core and climax of the film, even if he ends up in some truly hideous aging makeup. His chemistry with White is believable, and it’s a shame he never had more to do out-with the flashback segments.
The cinematography is very intimate, and the scenes where Springsteen is recording the Nebraska tracks are wonderful, the films main highlight. There’s also some strong late autumn atmosphere, especially around the Colts’ Neck rental. As a visual interpretation of Nebraska, it works wonders, drawing us into that dark, intimate, personal space and feeling the pressure Springsteen did.
Unlike many music biopics, Deliver Me From Nowhere, does not stray too far from fact. Much of the film does play like a streamlined version of the book, with some additions from Springsteen’s own biography, Born To Run. Much of the studio scenes and discussions with Landau did actually happen.
However, Faye Romano, played by Odessa Young, is a made-up composite character of several of Bruce Springsteen’s girlfriends from the 70s and 80s. Whilst I do understand the motivation behind her character (showing Springsteen’s inability to connect with women at this time), it did feel more like an excuse to cram in a romantic sub-plot, which, in my opinion, detracted from the central narrative.
There are also some other loose deviations from the true story – the version of Born In The USA shown in the studio scenes is vastly different from the Nebraska version of the song, and Springsteen at one point says he likes mustard, when the real man has stated on stage he hates the stuff!
The screenplay itself is nothing special, with Jeremy Strong doing a lot of heavy-lifting when it comes to exposition and explaining what’s happening, but it pulls off core emotional moments like the reunion between father-and-son at the end of the film.
Deliver Me From Nowhere attempts to take an intimate look in to Bruce Springsteen’s life during the making of his seminal Nebraska album, with some standout performances and musical moments, but fans looking for something more in-depth are better sticking to the book.
Featured Image Credit: 20th Century Studios
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