This has been the year for biopics with a Jersey connection.
First came James Mangold’s “A Complete Unknown,” with Timothée Chalamet channeling a boyish Bob Dylan, and Cape May standing in for Newport, circa 1965. Now New Jersey’s favorite son, Bruce Springsteen, gets his turn in Scott Cooper’s “Deliver Me from Nowhere.”
Both films examine pioneering artists on the cusp of superstardom, just before the tsunami of fame, fortune, and global adulation. “Deliver Me” opens in the early 1980s, two years before “Born in the USA,” the breakthrough album that made Springsteen a cultural phenomenon.
It’s a time of deep introspection for the musician. As Columbia Records demands more hits, he struggles with depression sparked by memories of his traumatic boyhood. Almost in defiance, Springsteen spurns his trademark anthemic rockers and goes acoustic. He records most of the brooding songs for his next album, “Nebraska,” on a cheap tape recorder. To the despair of record company execs, he insists that the album be released without fanfare, without a tour — even without his face on the cover.
Jeremy Allen White as Springsteen doesn’t have that famous face, but he’s credible and sympathetic in the starring role, especially in scenes with love interest Faye (Odessa Young), a single mom who slings hash at the local diner. When they meet, she’s a fan, in thrall to his stage persona. Then, as she discovers the troubled man beneath, she longs for a deeper bond.
Stephen Graham is powerful as Springsteen’s dad, a bus driver who drowns his frustrations in booze and takes out his misery on his young son, even forcing him into sparring matches. As the young Springsteen, Matthew Anthony Pellicano Jr. is like any child in a chaotic home: on constant high alert, knowing at any moment the old man may come after him. Vivienne Barrus is wonderful as Faye’s young daughter, Haley, playing the secondary role with natural sweetness.
As Bruce’s manager, Jon Landau, Jeremy Strong has the most thankless role. He is the earnest father-confessor, wringing his hands over the artist’s suffering, nobly defending him from record company execs, and doling out platitudes like Edgar Guest.
The film’s plodding pace might have been leavened by more onstage interludes, where Springsteen plays the raw, bracing rock ‘n’ roll he’s known for. But “Deliver Me from Nowhere” — based on the book by Warren Zanes — is ultimately affecting. In a moving final scene, Springsteen and his father reach out to each other, trying to mend their fractured relationship. That awkward détente helps the rocker move with new confidence into a spectacular future.
Of course, for New Jerseyans, it’s great fun to see local landmarks like the Asbury Park beach and boardwalk, that beautiful, decrepit carousel, and the Stone Pony, where the Boss got his start. If you love Springsteen, you’ll find much to appreciate in this film. I give the film four out of five stars.
Don Preston is a retired educator and actor who spent 30 years teaching film and theater in New Jersey schools.
