Expected in Italian cinemas on October 23, “Springsteen - Deliver Me from Nothing” brings to life the ambitious project of a biopic dedicated to the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen , inspired first and foremost by his personal life, even before the extraordinary results achieved in over fifty years of career.
Written and directed by Scott Cooper—already accustomed to music-themed films after the splendid “Crazy Hearth”—the film draws heavily on Warren Zanes's book “Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska,” which traces the 1982 recording of “Nebraska,” arguably Springsteen's most intimate and introspective album, born during a period of intense research and a precursor to the international success he achieved with the E Street Band and the song “Born in the USA.” In addition to the extraordinary Jeremy Allen White—who bears an uncanny resemblance to the rock star—the cast also includes Jeremy Strong, Paul Walter Hauser, Stephen Graham, Odessa Young, and Gaby Hoffmann.
Perhaps not everyone knows that Springsteen rejected the idea of a film based on his life for years, trying to escape the mythologization his figure had inevitably instilled in the imaginations of millions of fans worldwide. What convinced him this time was Cooper's desire to focus the story on the human experience, avoiding the risk of a hagiographic approach focused solely on his stage successes.
Speaking about it, the director said: "It wasn't Bruce Springsteen, the icon and rock star who could fill stadiums. It was Bruce alone in a rented house, trying to understand himself and his unresolved traumas through song. The book captured the tension between the myth of Bruce Springsteen and the man. That's where the film lived for me. Not in the spectacle, but in the silence, the hesitation, the uncertainty. I saw a cinematic portrait of an artist willing to strip himself completely."
And explaining what convinced Springsteen to greenlight the project, he added: "Bruce has famously turned down countless offers to tell his story. But he saw that I was determined to avoid any hagiography. Bruce once told me, 'The truth about yourself is rarely pretty, and I want you to tell the truth about my struggles.'"
