4 stars out of 5
I try to buy any new Springsteen album on the day of release, and it turns out I’m an opening-day guy for any Bruce biopics too. Had obviously been looking forward to this movie, after so many reports of filming days in Asbury Park, Bruce sightings on-set, etc. And I’ve enjoyed Jeremy Allen White’s work in The Bear (less so in The Iron Claw).
In case you haven’t been as invested in the making of this film as I was: It only focuses on one specific time period in Springsteen’s life, the making of his sparse landmark album Nebraska. He’s already the superstar who appeared simultaneously on the covers of Time and Newsweek, but not yet the global megastar of Born in the USA. And the songs coming to him are not obvious hit singles; they are explorations of a darkness and a solitude within.
As a result this is not a flashy, bright lights, big city movie (despite a couple of thrilling concert recreations). Like the Nebraska album itself, the film is subtle, subdued, and reflective, and goes to some dark places. It is perhaps overly respectful of the Legend of Springsteen; had writer/director Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) taken some bigger swings, he might’ve turned a very good film into an excellent one.
The superb cast provides you with a reason to believe. Jeremy Allen White inhabits the role of the personally and professionally conflicted Springsteen; it doesn’t hurt that Bruce’s insistence on perfection and his own vision but with a self-doubt linked to depression is ground White’s previously covered as Carmy. Jeremy Strong is excellent as Bruce’s ultra-supportive, nurturing manager Jon Landau. I could listen to his great near-monotone voice all day. Stephen Graham, who is having a moment, anchors the black-and-white childhood flashbacks as Bruce’s dad – frightening and distant but still a role model for a wide-eyed kid. In smaller roles, the likable Paul Walter Hauser is manning the tape deck at Bruce’s house, David Krumholtz solidifies his position as go-to nebbishy character actor with a turn as a record label exec, and a stubbly-but-no-mustache Marc Maron only gets a couple of key lines as mix-master Chuck Plotkin.
The movie never embarrasses itself, and can proudly take its place in the Bruce-adjacent canon. As a piece of entertainment: If you love Bruce, and love New Jersey, I think you’ll really enjoy this movie. Or if you’re simply Bruce-curious, you’ll learn quite a lot. But if you’re Type-A or ADHD or crave car chases, superdudes, or K-Pop anime, you can probably skip this one.
being underrated is overrated
Jack Silbert, curator