The history of rock ’n’ roll is filled with mythic narratives that aren’t as fixed as they might seem. The documentary “Get Back” revealed that the Beatles’ waning days were as joyful as they were contentious. A recent biography argued that Elvis Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, wasn’t the exploitative Svengali he’s often made out to be.
And a powerful new film, “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” makes the case that Bruce Springsteen — perhaps rock’s ultimate macho hero — was at his creative best as he struggled through a crippling depression when making his 1982 album, “Nebraska.”
It’s a twist, or at least a complication, to the familiar story of Springsteen as New Jersey’s anointed son, who rose without deflection to Bossdom and never looked back. Details of his emotional crisis surrounding “Nebraska” have trickled out over the years, and after Springsteen addressed it briefly in his 2016 memoir, “Born to Run,” the musician and writer Warren Zanes interviewed him to get a more thorough narrative. Zanes’s book “Deliver Me From Nowhere” became the basis of the new film’s screenplay.
Still, even for the dedicated Bruceologists who have kept up, it is striking to see a major motion picture depict mental health struggles as a central piece of the Springsteen story.
A quiet masterpiece
“Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” which comes out Oct. 24, opens with a scene that is about as canonically Bruuuuce as can be. As played by Jeremy Allen White of “The Bear,” a bucket-sweating Springsteen hoarsely belts out “Born to Run” before an adoring arena crowd. Once the tour ends, though, his life is isolated. He searches for inspiration for his next album, fending off pressure from his record company to deliver the next radio hit.
In a typical music biopic, our hero would triumph by delivering a smash bigger than anyone could have imagined. Instead, Springsteen created “Nebraska,” a haunted, low-fi solo album, working with a rudimentary cassette recorder in a rented house in Colts Neck, N.J., just a quick zip in the Camaro Z28 from where he grew up.
The songs he recorded, like “Atlantic City,” “Johnny 99” and “Highway Patrolman,” were stories of desperate, despairing characters, animated by acoustic guitar, harmonica and Springsteen’s raw voice, which held traces of Woody Guthrie and early Bob Dylan. He had intended the songs as demos, to be fleshed out later with his full band. But the material was intensely personal; in the film, as Springsteen writes, we see him having flashbacks about his brooding, heavy-drinking father.
So Springsteen decided to release “Nebraska” exactly as he had captured it on his cassette, recording flaws and all. He left the album intentionally mysterious, refusing to promote it through any singles, tours or even interviews — a courageous but risky left turn by an artist who was then still on an upward trajectory in his career.
“‘Nebraska’ is the most punk thing Bruce ever did,” Scott Cooper, the film’s director and screenwriter, told me in a recent interview. “Not in sound, but in spirit.”
Generating buzz
From its earliest appearances in film festivals, “Deliver Me From Nowhere” has arrived preloaded with hype. Surely that has to do with its subject: Until now, Springsteen, 76, has never allowed his story to be dramatized in a feature film. Also fueling the buzz are strong performances by White and Jeremy Strong (“Succession”), who plays Jon Landau, Springsteen’s longtime manager.
But it also provides Hollywood with plenty of material to engage one of its great obsessions: wrestling with the art of filmmaking itself. Is “Deliver Me From Nowhere” a biopic or isn’t it? The studio behind the film, 20th Century Studios, which is part of the Walt Disney Company, has framed it as not fitting that format, because the film portrays a short episode within a life, rather than a cradle-to-stardom biography. That’s true. But it is also unmistakable as an exercise in the rock biopic subgenre, from its scenes of stirring performances to its closing title cards summarizing Springsteen’s later success.
These kinds of debates have a habit of elevating films come awards season.
THE LATEST NEWS
Politics
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Over the first week of the government shutdown, the White House has started to lay off federal workers and said it might deny some back pay. Democratic leaders say it has strengthened their resolve to keep the shutdown going.
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The shutdown’s effects are starting to become more pronounced, with services for veterans, Native Americans and farmers starting to strain.
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President Trump said the government would be able to pay members of the military during the shutdown, even though Congress has not approved additional money for the troops.
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Joe Biden is undergoing radiation therapy for prostate cancer, his spokeswoman said.
War in Gaza
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Israelis and Palestinians are waiting for the exchange of all the living hostages in Gaza for about 2,000 prisoners in Israel, which is expected to begin tomorrow morning. There is relief — and mourning.
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Thousands of Palestinians have started walking to northern Gaza to try to find out what happened to their loved ones and their homes. Their joy at the pause in fighting has been tempered by the destruction they face.
Tennessee Explosion
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Officials said that 16 people had been killed in the blast at an ammunition plant on Friday.
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The plant has long been an economic bedrock in a rural area. People know the jobs are risky, a former employee said: “You’re working with explosives every day, and any little thing can set it off.”
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“You can’t even fathom this at all,” Gary Moore, whose 37-year-old son was killed, said, adding, “Your children are supposed to bury you.”
Diane Keaton
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The vibrant, sometimes unconventional actress Diane Keaton died at 79. She won an Oscar for “Annie Hall” and shone in comedies like “The First Wives Club” and dramas like “The Godfather.”
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She wielded her style in her roles, building characters out of clothing. “Keaton’s, well, Keaton-ness was also one of her great skills,” Esther Zuckerman writes in an appraisal.
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See pictures of her life and stream her great performances.
Other Big Stories
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At least nine people have been killed in shootings across Mississippi since Friday.
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Iran is trying to become a destination for affordable gender transition operations. Its doctors have decades of experience because the government has long forced transgender Iranians to undergo the surgeries.
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The trade war between the United States and China has kicked back into high gear: Trump said he would impose 100 percent tariffs next month; China accused the U.S. of double standards.
THE SUNDAY DEBATE
Does Trump deserve a Nobel Peace Prize for the Gaza cease-fire deal?
Yes. Trump’s involvement got Israel and Hamas to enter the first stage of a cease-fire and made the world safer. “If Trump’s accomplishments with foreign policy in 2025 alone have not surpassed those of these recipients, they are at least on par with them,” Nicole Russell writes in USA Today.
No. Trump’s violent orders elsewhere and his effort to bully his way into the prize are enough to disqualify him. “The Nobel Peace laureate is decided by five otherwise-ordinary Norwegian citizens, and Trump has reportedly already tried to strong-arm Norway’s finance minister to put pressure on them,” Jonah Blank writes for The Indian Express.
FROM OPINION
Zohran Mamdani’s campaign succeeded because of its meme-able slogans and anti-establishment ideas — just like Trump’s, Michael Hirschorn writes.
Immigration enforcement fails when it starts creating the chaos the system was designed to target, Jason Houser, a former leader of ICE, writes.
Here are columns by Ross Douthat on Trump’s domestic policy and Maureen Dowd on the Nobel Peace Prize and Trump.
MORNING READS
Cosplay superstars: See some of the best looks from New York Comic Con, the annual gathering of comics, anime and expressions of nerd culture.
Where is God in Gaza? In Believing, we explore how people have grappled with faith during two years of brutal war.
Smoky and sweet: Forget about Texas and the Carolinas. For many Americans, Kansas City barbecue is barbecue.
Vows: Love bloomed onstage at “a mini-Pride just for women.”
SPORTS
Baseball: The Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners are sparring for a spot in the World Series. They face each other tonight in Toronto.
Soccer: English fans are chanting far-right slogans and pledging support for Reform UK, an anti-immigrant party.
Golf: Tiger Woods, 49, had another back operation. He has not played competitively since March.
BOOK OF THE WEEK
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“Heart the Lover,” by Lily King: Once again, King — author of best sellers like “Writers & Lovers” and “Euphoria” — proves herself the master of relationships with long shadows. In this unassuming yet profound novel, she traces the sunbeams (and the darkness) cast by a trio of friendships that begin in college and stretch into middle age. At the center of the story is Jordan, who befriends two guys in her 17th-century literature class and falls in love with one of them and then, later, with the other. The romance is fun, sexy and will-they-or-won’t-they, but the real appeal of this story named for a card game is the way King keeps reshuffling the deck and inviting us to take a long, hard look at the face on top. (Read our review.)
More on Books
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Laszlo Krasznahorkai, a Hungarian novelist, won the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday. Find out more about him here.
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In “Paper Girl,” Beth Macy revisits her hometown in Ohio, documenting its descent into poverty and acrimony. Read our review here.
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE
Read this week’s magazine.
THE MORNING RECOMMENDS …
Watch Rose Byrne in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” a wrenching portrait of a mother on the edge.
Block out the world with noise-canceling headphones.
Reduce your scars with silicone sheets.
MEAL PLAN
Emily Weinstein is making olive oil and chile eggs for dinner this week. They add protein and verve to toast, yogurt or just about anything else: The edges crisp and the yolks run, but the savory, spicy oil is the star of the dish. To round out the week, sizzle spiced ginger shrimp with burst tomatoes and whip up a comforting tofu and broccoli.
NOW TIME TO PLAY
Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was emolument.
Can you put eight historical events and figures — from Alexander the Great to Mister Rogers — in chronological order? Take this week’s Flashback quiz.
And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands.
Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times.
P.S. The Interview is off this week. It will be back next week.
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Amelia Nierenberg contributed to this newsletter.
Ben Sisario, a reporter covering music and the music industry, has been writing for The Times for more than 20 years.
The post Rethinking Bruce Springsteen’s Difficult Years appeared first on New York Times.
