A Movie on a Mission… for Mental Health
Bruce Springsteen has heard it all. He's been pitched on all kinds of ideas of movies for him to act in, or movies about him. He's been very protective of his image and selective about how he wants to be represented.
But, after having turned down every single movie idea presented to him until now, he chose the true story of him at his most vulnerable - at a moment when depression and emotional insecurity came close to claiming the young rock star's life.
The resulting movie, “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” strikes me far more as an act of public service than as a Hollywood ego trip. This is a film that promises to help cut through the stigma that blocks people, especially men, from discussing emotional struggle or seeking help when it's needed. It adds merit to the power of friendship and human caring being prioritized above matters of commercial success and financial reward.
Jeremy Allen White offers an emotionally honest interpretation of Bruce, rather than an impersonation. His hairstyle, brown contact lenses and skill at fully inhabiting his character provide a credible representation of Bruce, even though he's not a physical doppelganger for the musician. To play a legendary musical figure, an actor faces special demands, especially if that actor has no experience singing or playing guitar or harmonica. Jeremy's convincing portrayal of Bruce in his musical moments works not as mimicry, but as honest, hard-earned interpretation of Bruce's authentic songs and the places they come from.
Jeremy Strong portrays Bruce's friend, mentor and manager, Jon Landau, leaning into the protective instincts Jon has for an artist he cares deeply for as a person first and as a talent second. I especially appreciated how Jon bounced his concerns for Bruce off his wife, as someone facing a dilemma about a friend would likely do.
A Song Inspired by the Film
I watched every trailer from the film ahead of its release that I could find. As I assembled the parts of the movie in my mind, along with what I knew from the books, I developed a strong sense of this movie's message. Then I was called upon in my personal life to encourage and facilitate mental health care for a loved one, which drew me closer to Jon Landau's side of the story. So, prior to the release of “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere,” I wrote this song, simply titled “Deliver Me from Nowhere.”
▶️ You can stream or download this song at https://jasondidner.com/deliver-me-from-nowhere
The Creative Process on the Big Screen
I encountered lots of curiosity from fellow Bruce fans about how director Scott Cooper would illustrate Bruce's creative process in a cinematic way. The use of the movies that influenced Bruce, including the catalyst for the entire album, the 1973 film “Badlands,” a picture loosely based on Charles Starkweather's mass murder spree that had taken place in the ‘50s. This harrowing tale became the title track of the “Nebraska” album, the making of which provides the context, place and time for the entire biopic. Scenes from “Badlands,” replayed at key moments, illustrate how the story became lodged in Bruce’s mind. A key moment takes place where Bruce makes a connection between his own suffering by his father's violence and the brokenness in Starkweather that motivated his heinous acts. The film depicts Bruce crossing out “He” on the lyric sheet and changing it to “I” wherever a reference to Starkweather occurs. Shockingly, Bruce relates to the killer because of his own trauma. Not enough to become violent himself, but to at least artistically put himself in the shoes of a mass murderer.
Spare Parts and Broken Hearts
The creation of Faye, a fictional romantic interest, struck me as a wise decision. Bruce faces a significant challenge in his inability to fully engage in an emotionally intimate relationship. This weighs heavily on him. Odessa Young embodies a character based on women Bruce had relationships with in the late 70s and early 80s. This very likeable character offers Bruce “instant family,” since she's a single mother. She clearly seems to like Bruce for who he is, not for his fame or fortune. And Bruce hits it off nicely with Faye and her young daughter. Their outings as a prospective blended family make for endearing moments onscreen. Yet, the relationship is still doomed.
The movie doesn't state outright that Bruce craves a family of his own at this point, but in interviews he shared that he was trying to write that family life into existence with his 1980 double album “The River." However, he admitted he had walls up that would prevent him from allowing his greatest desire to enter his life. He's emotionally blocked. He's reliving unprocessed trauma from his father's untreated mental illness and its consequences: alcoholism and domestic abuse.
I understand the filmmakers' decision to create a fictional love interest rather than potentially embarrass any of the women Bruce dated at the time by writing an actual ex-lover into the script.
My Father's House
Fellow fans of Bruce who read his autobiography “Born to Run” will recognize a bit of dialogue at the end of the film when his father Douglas thanks him for being such a good son when the father himself wasn't always so good. They'll also pick out that it wasn't for another decade that Douglas actually told Bruce this - when Bruce was expecting his first child with his wife Patti Scialfa. But I very much understand filmmaker Scott Cooper's creative decision to include those words in the timeline around the making of “Nebraska”. It's a choice that makes these important passages work in an exploration of this particular time period.
I didn't recall Bruce's autobiography revealing a story of his father asking the sweaty, full-grown rock star to sit on his lap after a concert, but I figured that made for a great stand-in for similar moments Bruce did discuss in his autobiography - one was a spontaneous idea his father had to go to Disneyland together, making up for missed opportunities in The Boss' childhood. The other was a fishing trip that went sideways but still offered father and son a quirky way to bond later in life. If I understand the true story correctly, Bruce helped his father get diagnosed and treated for mental health issues after he got his own mental health right. But again, Bruce flying to California to help his dad get back on his medicine during his own depressed period works in the context of a 2-hour movie, even if it differs in timing from the autobiography.
This Depression
What “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” sacrifices in glamour, it makes up for in honesty. Nearly every incident depicted in the film can be traced to Warren Zanes' book based on interviews with Bruce or that “Born to Run” autobiography. Just as Bruce's acoustic album “Nebraska” had shocked fans expecting more high energy rockers like “Hungry Heart,” this movie only flirts briefly with rock-n-roll glory and focuses instead on Bruce's long, difficult slog of downtime between tours.
I recall Bruce saying in an interview, “I'm not my own best company.” This film brings the receipts for that statement.
Bruce's panicked initial refusal of the suggestion he could use professional help struck me as a period-appropriate male reaction to Jon's urging. The depiction of Bruce sitting down with the therapist speaks volumes about how long and how deeply he needed this help by the time he got it. Jeremy Allen White's brief, incredulous chuckle just before the tears flow in therapy played as a master stroke of storytelling.
“Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” could have been made any number of ways given the rich amount of history surrounding Bruce Springsteen's life and career, including the period in which he was making “Nebraska.” These filmmakers, in collaboration with Bruce, found in all that material a story with unique value: one which might well encourage us to tell our stories.