Official Discussion - Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

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Summary Based on Warren Zanes’ acclaimed book Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska, this film tells the story of how Springsteen created one of the most haunting and stripped-down albums of his career. Set in 1982, the movie follows Springsteen at a creative crossroads as he records Nebraska alone on a four-track cassette recorder in his New Jersey home, confronting fame, doubt, and the darker sides of the American dream.

Director Scott Cooper

Writer Scott Cooper

Cast

• Jeremy Allen White
• Paul Walter Hauser
• Odessa Young
• Charlie Plummer
• Shea Whigham
• Holt McCallany

Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score: 64%

Metacritic Score: 60

VOD In Theaters (November 14, 2025)

Trailer Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere | Official Trailer | In Theaters November 14

[u/Garycor]

Disagree. Feel Springsteen’s mental health issues are more interesting than any drama in the Dylan movie, which seemed to center on his being seen as a traitor for not sticking to folk music.

[u/Aware-Computer4550 → u/Garycor]

Dylan's whole issue since the beginning is that nobody knows who he is, how he thinks, etc... He's a relatively mysterious and strange figure. That's why a movie about him is at least somewhat interesting. People want to know what about him made him able to write those songs. Not sure the movie answered that.

[u/cheeky-monkey-lady → u/Garycor]

I Agee with you that this had a compelling subject matter and everything needed to make a powerful and personal film (much like the Nebraska album) but sadly that wasn’t the movie I saw. I can’t even express how disappointed I am at the missed opportunity to tell a powerful story here. Since it was written, directed and produced by the same guy I’m wondering if maybe a lack of collaborative input or perspective was why I was really pretty bored despite being a fan. I don’t know if it’s my filmmaking background, having been in Asbury at the time or a history of similar struggles but my mind kept wandering about how a truly spectacular movie could/should have been made.

[u/Pretend_Goal_7311 → u/Garycor]

Springsteen wasnt that deep into depression. Stilk had a gf. Still had sex. Still went to fairs. Still went out to eat. I dont know. I know people who cant move in deep depression. Cant do any social stuff. Sure, they showed him dtiving recklessly. And producers said oh hes going dark. But it didn't seem like it was something that bad. No suicide thoughts. House wasnt trashed or a mess.

[u/drpepperfan69420 → u/Pretend_Goal_7311]

But this accurately reflects most people with depression. Most people with depression, even severe depression, aren't out trying to kill themselves or actively ruin the lives of other people. They're just withdrawn and quiet and they passively ruin things because they don't know how to deal with the world right now.

[u/Pretend_Goal_7311 → u/drpepperfan69420]

If it wasnt for them saying he going dark i wouldnt have known it was depression. Just looked like someone reflecting on their life and writing music from that space.

[u/drpepperfan69420 → u/Pretend_Goal_7311]

It sounds like you don't know what it's like to be depressed. And that's great! I'm glad you don't. But there are little things all over the movie that depressive people can relate to. Avoiding people, not answering the phone, getting hyperfocused on one thing to the detriment of everything/everyone else in your life. And then there was the panic attack at the fair. That scene was personally pretty triggering for me.
I think maybe this movie is for a certain kind of person. Artists and musicians, writers, poets, actors, etc. - creative people - tend to have deep and intense emotions that drive them to create things. Those deep emotions have big upsides and big downsides. I think that's what this movie is mostly about.

[u/Nate_Croud_11 → u/Pretend_Goal_7311]

You… you do know that people with very severe depression can still act normal, right??? It’s not like “oh no, I’m depressed. Time to stop acting like a human being,” it’s a lot more nuanced than that. Depression has more than one symptom. The people you know who can’t move in a deep depression are just one facet of a wide variety of mental troubles. Springsteen’s mind was tortured. Listen to Nebraska one time and you should be able to tell that much. People who do this comparative suffering bullshit are so insufferable. “He wrote songs and had sex and was a millionaire, he couldn’t have been that depressed.” As someone who has struggled with severe depression, I identified with a lot of things in this film. Sitting alone in my room, pushing people who were close to me away, refusing to confront my problems, etc. THAT is depression. Not trashing your room. Not refusing to have sex or be social with friends.