'Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere' Was, Unfortunately, Boring

Bruce Springsteen's journey crafting his 1982 album Nebraska, which emerged as he recorded Born in the USA with the E Street Band. Based on Warren Zanes' book.

I'll qualify this by noting that I am far from the world's biggest Bruce fan. I like him, but I'm just not a super fan. However, this movie intrigued me because it combined a biopic format I like (sticking to a specific period of time vs the entire life of an artist) with actors I love and a director I find talented. What could go wrong? 

The movie revolves around the making of the album 'Nebraska'. It's a folky, dark album that was a departure from his previous stuff. Springsteen and his manager, Jon Landau, spend a lot of the story trying to justify to people that, despite this album not being that entertaining, it has to be made because of how personal it is to Bruce. This movie essentially has to jump through the same exact hoops, but has to do it with a a lower resolution screenshot of the genuine article. 

Let me start with some positives. The acting is really good across the board. Jeremy Allen White is believable and, in the limited points he is asked to really sing, he sounds great. Jeremy strong is solid and Stephen Graham is an absolute star. Basiclaly, any time you get Jeremy-Jeremy or Jeremy-Stephen on screen together, it's great. On top of that, the production value is high and you get the beautiful shots you expect out of Scott Cooper. 

The problem is that his story, in the way that it is presented, is boring. You spend a ton of time watching Bruce brooding around his house, spending time in an inconsequential relationship (which was not real but added for effect), and being sad. It's simply not very compelling which makes the 2 hour runtime feel even longer than it is. This put a very unfair burden on the actors to carry this to the finish line. 

I'll hedge a little here by noting that maybe hardcore Bruce fans will love it. And, if that was the goal, then maybe you can call it a success.