The New Bruce Springsteen Movie– Deliver Me from Nowhere

Well I’ve been to Asbury Park, which indeed is named for Francis Asbury, and is a place where Methodists have had a summer camp for over a century where revivals would be held.  My friend and fellow New Testament scholar  Mark Allen Powell used to be a music reporter and tells the story of spending time with Bruce, who has talked about being a nominal Catholic.    The Boardwalk and the old Palisades building and merry go round are still there, though the building was shut while I was there, and the only memorable thing I did was go swimming at the beach there and managed to separate my shoulder.

This is a movie that Freud would love as it is a psychological portrait of a young man who had a somewhat abusive and distant father who drank a lot, and a warm and loving mother,  and Bruce grew up in that sort of working class environment in Freehold N.J. and like many of us in that age we grew up loving rock n’ roll and wanting to play and sing it.   This movie is actually only about the early years, the depression and crisis that arose from writing the songs that went into the much praised lp called Nebraska, when Bruce was on the cusp of stardom, having also written the songs that ended up on Born in the USA lp.  Clearly, Bruce was dealing with some deep, dark stuff, and It is interesting that the Catholic writer. Flannery O’Connor figures at several points in the film as providing some personal guidance.  Bruce was and is a contemplative soul, and he had a hard time coping with his shortcomings, but he was always honest and genuine.  Unlike Dylan, there was no persona non grata, only a real, genuine, and sometimes frightened person.

I’m glad there are so many good reviews of this film is it is one which may help young people having dreams of stardom cope with the reality of falling short, or struggling to live up to expectations.   Bruce Springsteen is an American original, and his music reflects an important slice of what being an American struggling to success and be a decent human being is like.