Springsteen
I almost never see a movie on opening day (not a fan of cheek-by-jowl seating in a packed theater). However, that’s why god invented matinees. As a huge Springsteen fan (my teen years were spent driving New Jersey’s and rural New York’s backroads with a cassette of Born to Run blaring from the shitty speakers in the family sedan), and an enthusiast of Scott Cooper tortured artist flicks, I was quick to Fandango an assigned seat for the 2:50 pm showing yesterday. I even endured the 20 minutes of ads and previews (WTF) with anticipation of Jeremy Allen White’s portrayal of the Boss.
Now, I confess, I didn’t read any reviews or takes on the film in advance, so didn’t prepare myself for the emotional thrust of the movie.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The film takes place in the early eighties during Springsteen’s Nebraska conception—an album he created while struggling with depression and the fallout of a childhood marred by parental addiction and mental illness. Based on Warren Zane’s book of the same name, Deliver Me from Nowhere chronicles Springsteen’s struggle writing the tracks for his acoustic album. It’s a movie about a search for identity through artistic compulsion. Navigating that razor’s edge between authenticity and madness.
White plays Springsteen with the on-brand melancholy he’s known for: that ethereal gaze, the rich intensity of spirit that hides inside his genius. On another level, the film delves into the challenges that stardom places on a sensitive introvert. The trap of external pressure. Of fan expectations. How to block the noise and do the next thing that “makes sense” to an artist. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when White-as-Springsteen revises his early notes on the title track, Nebraska, crossing out third-person references in favor of first-person. That tiny lightbulb of awareness inching closer to his truth.
Another interesting tidbit: the brief Flannery O’Connor references. Midway through the film, the Springsteen character, stuck in a funk, opens her collection of short stories for what we imagine is inspiration. And then, toward the end, when our hero is close to a complete breakdown, his manager quotes from O’Connor’s novel, Wise Blood: “Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were going to never was there, and where you are is no good unless you can get away from it. Where is there a place for you to be? No place. Nothing outside you can give you any place.” Thus the title of this film (and the book that inspired it).
Shortly after that, Springsteen has an epiphany and whispers, “She’s right.” Now, the double entendre might make you think the “she” he’s referring to is the girlfriend, Fay, who had confronted his cowardice in a previous scene. But, nope. It had to be the O’Connor line. As it turns out, O’Connor had a huge influence on Springsteen. Check this out.
So, in summary, the film was not what I expected, but it really gave me another layer of insight into one of my favorite artists. It’s worthy of a big screen watch.
Once you’ve seen it, what are your thoughts? Also, are you an opening day film goer? What’s the last movie you saw on its release day?
Your review belongs in the NYT!
First, I haven't yet seen the film but your recommendation works for me. What hooked me into this piece is Springteen's admiration of Flannery O'Connor who I discovered in the 70s. I was struck by the dichotomy between her daily real-world life and the bare, stark reality of the human condition she wrote onto the page. Her embrace of a person's "shadow" for lack of a better word and use of it as a starting point in story telling. Thank you for this, Suzy.