Bruce Springsteen Movie: "Deliver Me From Nowhere" Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Just got back from watching "Deliver Me from Nowhere."

First of all, it was well made and well acted. Not particularly poorly written but not well written.

Secondly, I'm a casual fan and definite admirer of Bruce Springsteen, but not a worshipper or hardcore fan. So, maybe I'm not the target audience?

But, it was completely lacking in a plot. It made me think of the presentation I heard in high school by a successful novelist who talked about how, when choosing your story line, you should always make sure you are focusing on the time in history when two lines cross each other.

This particular movie seemed like there were no lines crossing at all. No conflict. No vividly drawn portrait. No illumination of a complex character.

It really seemed like it was more about hero worship than making an interesting film.

Secondly, what was the point of the relationship with the woman he dated? Just to fit the kissing / sex scenes in, since Jeremy Allen White is hot? It just made him look like a total ass.

I would much rather have seen more about his childhood / father / mother / sisters (who were not characters in the movie.)

[Anonymous]

Should be thirdly not secondly in the second secondly.

[Anonymous]

I’d prefer a 3 pt documentary similar to Billy Joel’s. Particularly while they’re still alive!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d prefer a 3 pt documentary similar to Billy Joel’s. Particularly while they’re still alive!

Yes, the documentary about Billy Joel was excellent. I felt like I knew him much better after I saw it.

[Anonymous]

The reality is he has never been an interesting person. He made a handful of great songs early on and quickly became a cult hero/icon…because fans projected a personality on him. But what has he done?

He adopted a speech affect (like Madonna and Johnny Depp) to fit the character foisted upon him.

And he hasn’t made a hit in several decades. Decades.

He cheated on his wife, married his band mate, and cheated on her. Nothing interesting or noble there.

And he tours based on hits and a fake persona.

FTR, I say all this as someone who sat front row at one of his concerts in the 90s. It was fun, but I’m not a super fan or remotely interested in seeing this movie. I like some of his songs, admire that work, but basically think he’s nowhere near as talented or noteworthy as many people think. Moreover, listening to his fake voice while he pretends to know the working man when in reality he got rich and famous really early on is irritating. He’s a big phony. No clue why people don’t see that.

[Anonymous]

Agree that the movie was pretty slow and not particularly interesting.

[Anonymous]

We're waiting for streaming.

[Anonymous]

I'm a big fan and I thought the movie was very meh. There was no real plot - just repetition on the themes of his unhappy childhood and his obsession with releasing Nebraska. I thought the actor who played Bruce was excellent but the movie itself was a flop. I saw the Dylan movie on opening night and happily have re-watched it on a couple of flights. Not this one.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]The reality is he has never been an interesting person. He made a handful of great songs early on and quickly became a cult hero/icon…because fans projected a personality on him. But what has he done?

He adopted a speech affect (like Madonna and Johnny Depp) to fit the character foisted upon him.

And he hasn’t made a hit in several decades. Decades.

He cheated on his wife, married his band mate, and cheated on her. Nothing interesting or noble there.

And he tours based on hits and a fake persona.

FTR, I say all this as someone who sat front row at one of his concerts in the 90s. It was fun, but I’m not a super fan or remotely interested in seeing this movie. I like some of his songs, admire that work, but basically think he’s nowhere near as talented or noteworthy as many people think. Moreover, listening to his fake voice while he pretends to know the working man when in reality he got rich and famous really early on is irritating. He’s a big phony. No clue why people don’t see that. [/quote]

Because you're wrong, pp.

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed the movie for nostalgic reasons...boomer here!

[Anonymous]

I am conflicted on seeing this movie. I like a lot of Springsteen songs - I never skip them when they come on rotation.

However, I am very shallow about my entertainment - I only want to see pretty people unless they are playing a bad guy. The actor playing Springsteen is Jeremy Allen White, who I find very ugly. I don't want to look at his face for over an hour, especially not on a big screen.

[Anonymous]

A rock star bio tends to be pretty predictable - and thus boring. Plus there's always too many hands in the kitchen, especially if the producers need the cooperation of the rock star. It invariably becomes a safe and plodding movie. A hagiography. The Freddie Mercury movie was also a fail, not least because every surviving member of Queen needed to have their input addressed. A screenwriter can't work with all this noise and so many invested parties and create a solid three act movie.

If I were a Hollywood muckety-muck doing a Springsteen movie, I would have focused on late 70s Bruce on the Jersey shore and ended it with Born in the USA, when he became a megastar. And that's it. Fin. And cut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a big fan and I thought the movie was very meh. There was no real plot - just repetition on the themes of his unhappy childhood and his obsession with releasing Nebraska. I thought the actor who played Bruce was excellent but the movie itself was a flop. I saw the Dylan movie on opening night and happily have re-watched it on a couple of flights. Not this one.

I much preferred the Dylan movie over this one. The Dylan movie was about the music. This movie is about Springsteen's depression? Boring.

[Anonymous]

Fantastic acting. But ultimately quite boring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I enjoyed the movie for nostalgic reasons...boomer here!

Me too! I’m on the cusp of Gen X. It was a little plodding with too much of the bad dad childhood flashbacks, but it explored a period of his life I wasn’t familiar with. And after leaving the theater, I had the music happily stuck in my head.