This is a formulaic movie, for sure. A tortured genius struggles, finds his musical brethren, reflects on his difficult childhood, and eventually becomes a massive success.
If you are a massive fan of The Boss, it doesn’t matter. Based on the Warren Zane book, the film closely follows Bruce’s isolated recording of Nebraska, reflecting his dark head space. Jeremy Allan White is perfectly cast, even if he doesn’t resemble New Jersey’s favourite son. In this film Bruce is constantly on the verge of tears and there is no one better at that than the man who played Carmy Berzatto for four seasons, and counting, on The Bear.
The only light that comes into his life during this time is Faye (Odessa Young), a single mother and genuine fan looking for a connection. Even if she wasn’t a composite character, their romance would be doomed, at least if you know anything about Bruce’s future marriages. There are some truly wonderful and tender moments between the two actors.
Authenticity is a huge theme, especially when Bruce’s demanding producer Jon Landau (Jeremy Strong) and engineer stick to the raw sound of his original demos.
Bruce’s contentious relationship with his father ( Stephen Graham) gets plenty of flashbacks. The film nevertheless compelling thanks to White’s performance and the excellent music, played by White himself. It’s a dark postcard from the edge where Springsteen teetered for a while. He would have fallen in, if he didn’t have this project tethering him to the Earth.
Nebraska is a chronicle of depression delivered directly from a battered Gibson J-200 into a 4-track TEAK 144 PortaStudio cassette recorder in a New Jersey bedroom of a guy who is at once the most miserable and most successful he’s ever been
Director Cooper captures Springsteen shortly after he finished touring The River. Not quite The Boss yet, he was well on his way to becoming a local legend. Springsteen’s aversion to super-stardome comes through in White’s muted slightly ‘deer-in-the-headlights’ performance. He’s being swallowed up by the grasping depths of his own pond. It is an interesting time to capture Bruce, because success, not having to worry about money for the first time in his life, and the attention from women and strangers, were disorientating to him to a disorientating level.
Music lovers are seen blaring Springsteen’s Born in The USA without understanding that the song is a black irony about the failure of the American Dream.
Cooper shoots the miserable New Jersey winter in shades of amber and ochre, it exemplifies Springsteen’s despair.
When this movie works, it really works! An excellent movie though it won’t appeal to everyone.
