Jeremy Allen White delves into why Bruce Springsteen eventually smiles for the first time in Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere. White plays the Boss in the upcoming biopic, which focuses on the era when the musician was creating his album Nebraska. White has already been a part of early talks for Oscar nods for the role.
Also starring in the movie are Jeremy Strong, Stephen Graham, Paul Walter Hauser, and Odessa Young. Directed by Scott Cooper, Deliver Me from Nowhere releases this weekend.
In an interview with ScreenRant‘s Liam Crowley, White addresses the leading musician’s first attempt at a smile. Crowley pointed out that the music star is “sunken” for the majority of the movie, until one choice moment.
Allen delved into why this moment specifically caused Springsteen to break from his more sullen appearance. In this particular moment, when he is greeted by Faye’s daughter, White felt that the celebrity was “met with innocence” when “in the presence of a child,” causing him that joy.
Check out the full quote below:
Liam Crowley: Another thing I was looking for was when he was going to smile, because there’s a long stretch of this movie, I’d say 90% of this movie, he’s sunken. The smile is triggered the first time when Haley answers the door and he’s greeted by Faye’s daughter. What do you think that smile being triggered in a moment like that says about Bruce?
Jeremy Allen White: I think that’s innocence. I think he had been thinking about himself a lot. Obviously as a young man, you can see you through the flashbacks and his relationship to his father and that sort of loss of innocence. And then I think being greeted by a young girl that he’s met with innocence and he’s able to step out of his own way for a moment. Just being in the presence of a child like that.
It makes sense that this one moment would stand out to Crowley, or to others, given how little the character had displayed his visual joy before. This allows what may have been a seemingly smaller-stakes scene to really stick out, and speak to some of the broader themes the lead had been feeling throughout.
By contrast, though, this does illuminate how sullen the overall tone of Deliver Me from Nowhere is. This is not a feel-good biopic, but rather addresses a lot of Bruce Springsteen’s struggles in his career and personal life.
It will be interesting to see how audiences react to that overall. This is not a music biopic with the glitz and glam of Rocketman or even Bohemian Rhapsody, for that matter. Many music biopics are not feel-good movies, but Deliver Me from Nowhere has a particularly “sunken” lead.
His brooding nature could serve White well, however, when it comes to a future Oscar nomination. The musician’s story is treated with a lot of depth within the film, which will allow White to give a more dynamic, Oscar-worthy performance.
It is not going to be an uncompetitive year for awards season, as movies such as Bugonia and The Secret Agent have also been at the forefront of Oscar conversation. But it is nonetheless interesting to gain more understanding of the nuances of White’s performance in Deliver Me from Nowhere, which could end up walking away with awards.
