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

[Anonymous]

I saw this at an advanced screening last summer. I liked it and I'm a casual fan. But the story is not your typical biography. It's a slice out of his life, one time period while he wrote Nebraska, with some childhood flashbacks. I thought it was odd, though maybe bold, to so narrowly focus the story and that it was maybe a little too "inside baseball" for most watchers. You watch a lot of discussions between Bruce and his supportive manager, the work in the recording booth and it shows what went into the production of the songs. So it's a little niche. That said, I thought all the performers were excellent. I liked Jeremy Allen White and Stephen Graham who plays his dad. I also liked the parts that did go into his early life and what they showed of his New Jersey world. I think it's worth seeing if you like Springsteen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Big Springsteen fan here, the camp-out-to-get-tickets type.

I have zero desire to see this film. It just doesn't seem, I dunno, needed.

I will though, watch Coal Miners Daughter, over and over.

We're fans and will see it but not in the theatres but streaming on our huge tv in the comfort of our living room like any self-respecting boomer!

+1. I watched the Dylan movie in the theaters because it played more like a concert film, so I wanted that "being in an audience with fans" vibe, plus the theater speakers/sound. But there's no reason to see this movie in theaters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

OK, MAGA

[Anonymous]

He's a great rock musician, but the truth is he's not all that interesting - his biggest obstacles to overcome have been a tough father and depression. Yes, those are real things to have to deal with, but it doesn't set his rise to fame apart from many others, or really from so many normal people.

It's a cool part of his life, artistically speaking, but this movie was never going to appeal to anyone but his diehard fans. And his higher-profile political stands over the past few decades have by now alienated all the trogs who latched onto him by misinterpreting Born in the USA back in the 80s.

Sounds like the acting is good, though. Will probably get some Oscar nominations in those categories. Overall, it's a streamer for most.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He's a great rock musician, but the truth is he's not all that interesting - his biggest obstacles to overcome have been a tough father and depression. Yes, those are real things to have to deal with, but it doesn't set his rise to fame apart from many others, or really from so many normal people.

It's a cool part of his life, artistically speaking, but this movie was never going to appeal to anyone but his diehard fans. And his higher-profile political stands over the past few decades have by now alienated all the trogs who latched onto him by misinterpreting Born in the USA back in the 80s.

Sounds like the acting is good, though. Will probably get some Oscar nominations in those categories. Overall, it's a streamer for most.

Fan pp here. Agree with this.

[Anonymous]

I am a reasonably die hard fan and Nebraska is one of my favorite albums of all time.

The movie was a snooze fest. The love interest was gratuitous (I guess they just felt that it was necessary as part of whatever recipe they were following?). I don’t agree that the acting was good and it was distracting to have some of the music clearly performed by Bruce and some by Jeremy Allen White.

Regardless of your stance on Springsteen I would not recommend wasting time with this movie in the theater or at home. If you are a fan, your time will be better spent re-acquainting yourself with Nebraska, including the newly released outtakes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

OK, MAGA

lol

Hardly. In fact, I’m the complete opposite.

But I think his fan base skews conservative…regardless of his politics.

And imho you can’t be truly progressive if you aspire to amass a fortune for yourself so you can live like a king. Ymmv

[Anonymous]

had no idea springsteen was even still alive.

[Anonymous]

I like(d) Springsteen when he first took off but as he became wrapped in fame and fortune, I became less of a fan.

IMO his songwriting became stale like many artists once they no longer have any kind of true struggle in their lives.

OTOH, I'd really like to see a film done about Keith Richards!

[Anonymous]

I recommend the film of his Broadway one-man show which is on HBO. It made me like him more than I had. It's the real him if you don't want to suspend disbelief with JA White. He sits at the piano, reminisces about his songs and then plays and sings them. I loved it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I recommend the film of his Broadway one-man show which is on HBO. It made me like him more than I had. It's the real him if you don't want to suspend disbelief with JA White. He sits at the piano, reminisces about his songs and then plays and sings them. I loved it.

+1. Excellent

[Anonymous]

Just watched this. Paid 20 bucks to stream it. Was looking forward to it and, wow, is it bad. It is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Of course, am aware there are much worse movies out there but, wow, this was very poor. The guy from Succession was OK, but there is zero script, zero story, zero interest. Totally cliched and even that was done poorly. Avoid!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

That’s funny because the Billy Joel documentary was two parts, and while I enjoyed the first part, and I learned more about him, the second part felt like it was just too much of him defending himself for his own mistakes. Also, it was way too long and boring (two 3 hour parts) so we didn’t even finish the second part

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The Dylan movie made you feel like you were at the actual concerts depicted in the movie, which was really cool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just watched this. Paid 20 bucks to stream it. Was looking forward to it and, wow, is it bad. It is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Of course, am aware there are much worse movies out there but, wow, this was very poor. The guy from Succession was OK, but there is zero script, zero story, zero interest. Totally cliched and even that was done poorly. Avoid!

$20 to stream it!! That’s more than I’d be willing to pay to see it in a theater!