My Emotional Review of the Springsteen Biopic

After this movie, I completely see Bruce Springsteen differently. More as a human being than a performer. There were so many things I did not know about him when I watched the film, and now I really feel like I know him.

Who is Bruce Springsteen? 

Bruce Fredrick Joseph Springsteen is an American singer who started in the 70s hailing from Freehold, New Jersey. He has hits such as, Born to Run, Born In The USA, and Dancing In The Dark. The peak of his popularity came in 1984 when the “Born In The USA” album was released. He then came to be one of the most brilliant song-writers on the planet, and is known as the “Boss.” 

My Review of the Biopic 

“Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” is the new Bruce Springsteen biopic, released in theatres on October 24, 2025. I went to see it on release day; so many people were in the theatre. I was the youngest person there, which wasn’t a surprise to me. 

I won’t spoil anything but the premise of the movie just in case you might want to watch. This biopic was based on his Nebraska era. Nebraska is Springsteen’s sixth album. At this time, Bruce just wanted to be the artist he wanted by making his music his own with no promotion and not caring what other people thought, which gave him some hard times which is shown in the film. 

It starts with his growing up in New Jersey and then into that era of his life and a bit into the Born In The USA era. It was mostly about music, but also intertwined was his personal life and relationships. 

Music in the Movie 

I thought if I was writing a review of anything other than music, especially a movie review, I had to add the tunes in it. There were so many great tunes by Springsteen performed by himself and Jeremy Allen White, but I will tell you the stories about the most important songs in the movie that have to really do with the story. I will code this area gray and red as these are the main colors on the Nebraska album. 

Mansion on the Hill (Nebraska 1982)- This song came from parts in his notebook he wrote during the writings of “Darkness on the Edge of Town.” Bruce took inspiration from the tune by Hank Williams with the same name. It comes from riding around in the car with his father and not understanding why, but the song would be on. 

Nebraska (Nebraska 1982)- This tune is based on a movie Springsteen saw called Badlands (1973). He also has a tune on his 1978 album, Darkness on The Edge of Town of the same name. and was fascinated by it. This was one of the first tunes he wrote for the album. He was very inspired by the violence and idea of the film. He was originally going to call it “Starkweather,” based on the main character Charles Starkweather. Personally, the most powerful tune in the movie. 

Atlantic City (Nebraska 1982)- One of his signature tunes. The song came from a demo called “Fist Full of Dollars” that he recorded in 1981. This tune is about how money can be spent so fast, some lyrics were also inspired by the death of the “Chicken Man,” who was named Philip Testa who was a Philly mobster who was blown up by a bomb under his porch. 

Born In The USA (Born In The USA 1984)- This was the tune that sent him to stardom in 1985, being released in 1984. The song was based on Vietnam, especially if you listen to the lyrics. It can come off as very political. The music video even has some images of the War. 

My Father’s House (Nebraska 1982)- This tune was one of the songs that really inspired White when portraying Springsteen. It is about Bruce’s inspiration from one of his favorite movies, Night Of The Hunter, he used to go see with his father. It seems that his music is really influenced by memories with his father and movies. He said in an interview that he used to drive past his old house where he grew up in Freehold, and wondered in a therapy session how he could fix something that wasn’t fixable. 

My Expectations

Going into this film, I knew a bit of what was expected. About Bruce’s life, but not how much emotion was in this movie. Jeremy Allen White, the main actor who has also been famously known for his role in the shows, “Shameless” and “The Bear.” 

“There wasn’t a time I didn’t know the name Bruce Springsteen,” said White in an interview with Good Morning America. 

When you know the actor is personally inspired by the individual they are playing, they definitely play a role emotionally and they want to get it right. The effort and emotion White put into his performance of Springsteen is top tier in my opinion. 

While viewing this film I was so into it that I felt like it was a documentary of the “Boss.” Before the movie, there was a sneak peek video. This showed Bruce on the scene of the movie and he seemed to very much approve of it. He was quoted as being “heavily involved in the process.” When you're filming a biopic about an artist, their approval is all you really need to know it is good. 

When going back, I remembered going to see the “Back to Black” biopic of Amy Winehouse based on her album of the same name. I had the same reaction to the movie, although I have a more emotional connection with Winehouse than Springsteen. The actress who played Amy, Marisa Abela, did such a great emotional portrayal as well. 

On social media, many people had things to say about the film and how they got Amy wrong and did not serve her justice. Honestly, I don’t find that to be the case. Amy was very well portrayed and I saw more than just Abela; I saw Amy. The accent emphasis was so accurate and Amy’s personality really was shining and seen. Nothing but love for that film as well. 

What I Got Out of This Biopic 

The one thing I really got out of this was the words “I want to find the quiet in all of the noise.” Bruce (White), said this many times in the film. What I take from this is that, Springsteen as a human being, not just an artist, wanted to calm all the chaos in his life with his own music. I found that quite profound, and would like to start living by that. 

Cyclone Rating

Out of Cyclones, I would rate this movie a 4.5 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed it and felt like something moved in my life when I walked out of the film showing. It was very inspiring to me as a musician and music reviewer.