Jeremy Allen White has some big shoes to fill as he steps into the role of Bruce Springsteen in Scott Cooper’s new biopic, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere. Cooper bases his script on Warren Zanes’ book, Deliver Me from Nowhere.

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere delves into the creation of Bruce Springsteen’s (Jeremy Allen White) 1982 masterpiece Nebraska, capturing a young artist at a crossroads—isolated in rural New Jersey and wrestling with fame, faith, and the ghosts of his past. Influenced by American literature and film, Springsteen recorded the acoustic album alone in his bedroom on a 4-track recorder, crafting stark, lo-fi portraits of outlaws, dreamers, and working-class souls searching for redemption in a world that offers none.

When we first meet Springsteen in Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, he’s wrapping up The River Tour and facing pressure from the studio to deliver his next album. Before long, he starts writing the songs that would become Nebraska. Originally conceived as a double album, many of the tracks would later find new life on Born in the U.S.A.—but when the E Street Band tried to electrify the Nebraska material in the studio, it just didn’t sound right. Springsteen’s haunting demos, recorded in his New Jersey home, carried a quiet power the band versions couldn’t match.

Guitar tech Mike Batlon (Paul Walter Hauser) is the only one present as Springsteen records, experimenting with an Echoplex for tape delay and capturing rough takes that would eventually define the album’s sound. Producer Jon Landau (Jeremy Strong) and engineer Chuck Plotkin (Marc Maron) are understandably skeptical when Bruce insists on releasing the unvarnished demos—but Springsteen’s conviction wins out.

Going back to the electric arrangements, these recordings have been in the vault for years and are now set to be released this weekend as part of Nebraska 82: Expanded Edition (including Electric Nebraska), which also includes longtime collaborator Thom Zimny’s Bruce Springsteen: Nebraska Live on Blu-ray. Record executive Al Teller (David Krumholtz) could only react with a mix of disbelief and exasperation. After all, what rock star releases an acoustic album with no press, no singles, and no tour?

A few singles eventually trickled out, but Springsteen wouldn’t perform any Nebraska songs live until touring to promote Born in the U.S.A. That context only adds to the mystique of the album, long regarded as one of Springsteen’s most personal and daring works.

I’ll admit: I hadn’t read Warren Zanes’ book going in, and it’s been a while since I watched Springsteen on Broadway in an effort to lift myself out of a depressive spell—as such, much of the background in Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere felt new to me. Still, as fascinating as Cooper’s dramatization can be, it’s hard to escape the thought that nothing beats watching the real Boss. Give me the real Bruce Springsteen any day of the week!

There’s no denying Nebraska’s place among Springsteen’s greatest achievements—he’s said as much himself. Personally, I struggle to pick a favorite album; there are simply too many classics to choose from. Outside of The Beatles and John Williams, The Essential Bruce Springsteen—the three-disc collection released in 2003—is part of my permanent in-flight rotation. Why wouldn’t it be? We’re talking about the Boss here.

But that’s also where the film runs into trouble. Do I want to watch the real Springsteen or an actor playing him? I went in cold, avoiding the trailer and press, wanting the experience to speak for itself. While I wanted to love Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, it just didn’t hit me the way James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown did. That film found the soul of its subject. This one… nearly does.

Timothée Chalamet went all in to inhabit Dylan; White takes a quieter approach, channeling Springsteen’s inner turmoil rather than outright mimicking him. For some viewers of Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, that will be enough. For others, it might feel like a step shy of greatness. To his credit, White performed all his singing and guitar playing live on set—an admirable touch of authenticity—and Bruce’s own vocals occasionally bleed through, reminding us of the real voice behind the myth. Will it be enough to push forward during awards season? Time shall tell.

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere wisely narrows its scope to this brief yet pivotal chapter of Springsteen’s life, save for flashbacks to his childhood and complicated relationship with his parents, Doug (Stephen Graham) and Adele (Gaby Hoffmann). The film also introduces Faye Romano (Odessa Young), a waitress and love interest who serves as a composite of several women from Bruce’s past. How much of this part of the story is literally true? Hard to say—but it fits the emotional truth the movie aims for.

Behind the scenes, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere carries its own quiet tragedies. Scott Cooper lost his father before production began, and as filming wrapped, his home was destroyed in the LA wildfires. Springsteen responded in the most Springsteen way imaginable: opening his home to Cooper’s family and sending his daughter one of his guitars to replace the one she lost. If that doesn’t move you, I don’t know what will—it’s a reminder that beyond the legend, Bruce Springsteen remains, above all, a decent man.

Ultimately, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere captures a fascinating chapter in the Boss’s life, offering glimpses of his creative process and quiet humanity. Jeremy Allen White delivers a committed performance, and Cooper’s film gives the Nebraska era its deserved focus. Still, the movie struggles to convey the full emotional power of Springsteen’s music, and at times it feels like watching a portrait rather than truly experiencing the man behind it. For fans curious about the album’s origins, it’s worth a watch—but it falls short of the immersive, unforgettable experience that Springsteen himself can deliver.

DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Scott Cooper
CAST: Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Paul Walter Hauser, Stephen Graham, Odessa Young, David Krumholtz, Gaby Hoffmann, Harrison Sloan Gilbertson, Grace Gummer, Marc Maron, Matthew Pellicano Jr.

20th Century Studios will release Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere in theaters on October 24, 2025. Grade: 2.5/5

Please subscribe to The Solzy Report and visit Dugout Dirt.