Springsteen, the film Deliver me from nothing tells the demons of The Boss: the story of a tormented soul who healed himself with music

Springsteen comes to terms by reviewing himself, the contradictory (and often unresolved) relationship with his father Doug, an alcoholic, affectionless, even violent (played by Stephen Graham), which in many aspects will mark his growth.

It is a part of the story that Cooper presents in black and white: flashbacks constructed from a present perspective, narrating the having to face that confrontation and pain, even as a child. The excruciating fear of not being up to par shows us that he is an adult in search of balance and calm. One of the few to understand this, a sort of acquired father figure, is the beloved manager Jon Landau (Jeremy Strongstill great afterwards The Apprentice), capable of making him think about commercial expectations, refusal, the need to stop. But in the meantime his mental health collapses along with his relationship with the waitress Faye (Odessa Young), the only composite character, useful for deciphering themes regarding the need for help, the inability to (not) give in to love, the fall into depression, the immortal rebirth in music.

Macall Polay

Interview with the director, Scott Cooper: «I chose to tell it when it defied all expectations»

«If you make a film about Bruce Springsteen, people will think you’re making it about the Boss, the icon, the myth. I have chosen a chapter of his life in which he defied all expectations, unlike the roar of arenas and successful singles, here we see the courage to look within himself, in confronting his honesty of work, however painful it may be. I believe this is the ethic of my work. I made this film, as Springsteen, in the same way, made Nebraskathat is, in a minimalist way, without excesses, without frills, without spectacularity. The camera is unflappable and never looks away. And this started with Crazy Heart and it ends now with him.”

The Boss’s (original) clothes

«At first I had no idea that Bruce wanted to be so generous. I thought he would read my script, whether he liked it or not, and maybe stop by the set once or twice. That wasn’t the case, he was always there for me when I had a question. Then when it came time to shoot the movie, he said to me, “I have some 1982 clothes from Nebraska that I would like to give to Jeremy because this is a movie about ghosts.” Bruce was tormented by his childhood, by the guilt of success. So he gave Jeremy these pieces of clothing, T-shirts, flannel shirts, leather jackets, because if you’re making a movie about America’s most authentic artist, you’re looking for authenticity. And what better way to achieve this goal than having Bruce Springsteen himself next to him, who gives Jeremy a guitar, his clothes, the same ones that tell who he was at that moment. For me it was magical.”