1981, Colts Neck, New Jersey. Bruce Springsteen (Jeremy Allen White) is on the cusp of superstardom, having just completed a sold out tour and with his album “The River” a huge hit his record label want him to keep up the momentum. Bruce however wants to work on something more personal and chooses to hole up in a quiet house on his own and work on some new songs. The outcome would be his masterwork Nebraska, but the process would be a great struggle. 

Frequent followers of this site will know that I am a big fan of “The Boss” and it is with some trepidation that I have to report that this film is a huge misfire. A clunky mess of biopic mainstays that feels as though it mostly consists of Jeremy Allen White staring into the middle distance with his hands placed awkwardly high up in his leather jacket or holding a guitar. For any fans of the television show The Bear, also starring White you will know exactly what I am talking about. 

Jeremy Allen White, whilst not physically similar to Springsteen does a solid job of representing his aura. The trailers and posters will trick you into thinking that you will be seeing him rocking out but these are fleeting bookends to what is mostly a moody introspective look at writing songs on your own in an empty house. I at times struggled to separate this moody introspective character from the one that creates Michelin star food on The Bear and would really hope that White seeks out a role that separates him from this sort of typecasting going forward. 

It is the characters and actors around him that provided more interest and humour for me, although the majority of them struggle with being archetypal foils for the lead. Bruce’s abusive father Douglas is played by Stephen Graham in black and white flashbacks offering part of the puzzle on what is stopping the man from flourishing. Paul Walter Hauser plays the slightly comic engineer who helps him record some songs at home to great effect. But easily the most interesting performance in the film is from Jeremy Strong as Bruce’s manager Jon Landau. Strong gives an interesting mix of protective friend and manager who is aware of how much money can be made with this generational talent. Bizarrely the most prominent speech in the film trailer spouted by Landau about a hole in Bruce’s childhood bedroom floor has been excised. But they still felt it useful to have him ask his wife bizarre questions about Bruce’s mental health to prove he cares. 

And then we have romantic interest Faye Romano played by Odessa Young who gets to play the woman that proves Bruce is unable to commit whilst working on his music and trying to deal with his demons. It is a pretty unrewarding role that is done rather well. 

The result is two hours of actually mostly dull moodiness. We get a vague sense of the issues that resulted in Springsteen’s malaise and depression, but they are not really explored. We get a vague sense of his musical talent and influences but again it never feels fully fleshed out with the focus on just a couple of the songs and the production element of the record. 

Ultimately I would say this is for huge Springsteen fans only and would recommend the other musical biopic released this year for pure entertainment purposes – A Complete Unknown

For more Bruce related films I would also say to check out these: 

• Blinded By The Light
• Western Stars
• Bruce Springsteen’s Letter To You
• Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen And The E-Street Band