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Film reviews

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere Review

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With an astonishing portrait with honesty written all over it, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere is by far one of the most breathtaking and surreal biopics I have seen in years. Jeremy Allen-White was born to play Bruce Springsteen. He delivers the personality, the emotional talent, and gifted tones of aching pains to play into his musical characterization. Directed by Scott Derrickson, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere is bound to be one of the most talked about films of 2025. It does not only have the many musical moments of achievement, but also brings a flood of emotions into the backstory of Springsteen himself.

The film focuses on the early days of Bruce–his childhood and dealing with his abusive father. He goes back in his mind a lot as he is on the road and becoming famous. Dealing with the past leads to some dark roads ahead of him. Even though he has fame on his side, it is not always making him mentally positive. The road to success is not an easy one, as Bruce works with his agent Jon Landau with a lot of potential opportunity in limbo in the music business. Jon is played by Jeremy Strong, and as he pushes harder for Bruce to thrive on his musical fame and keep writing songs that sell, the momentum for Bruce tends to decrease. This leads Springsteen to go the solo album route. 

The relationship aspects of the film come on strong in the screenplay. Much of it gears a generous amount toward Bruce’s relationship with his father Douglas Springsteen. Stephen Graham plays the role of Bruce’s father. The conflict between his younger days of his father’s abuse and his increasing fame and public adoration fill his mind. This is where the film finds the balance of emotional and surreal resemblance—there is art from despair in Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.

The film dives deep into Bruce’s psyche. The moments of how he captures the sadness in his song writing are conveyed through the talent of White. His performance shines with amazement as he delivers this role showing the resilience to still have a heart while also battling one’s own demons. It also dives into the commitment from Jon. Despite the frustrations Jon has with Bruce, he makes sure that things go according to plan. The dynamic duo of White and Strong creates a massive success in Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.

With all the musical elements, the disconnect, and achievements, the film weaves to create an understanding that fame and popularity do not guarantee happiness. The life of Bruce is one that is hard to dismiss. The words of his voice telling his story via singing and songwriting is where Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere rises to inspire. Audiences will be inspired by this film. The early days of Springsteen show a world of sadness awaiting to become an artistic vision that will move many around the world. The film made me appreciate life. It also fascinated me with uncovering the amount of sacrifice that can go into one loving their craft so much. Four out of four stars for Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.

 

 

Film reviews

The Apprentice Review

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The story of one man’s rise to power moves swiftly in The Apprentice. Directed by Ali Abbasi, the early days of Donald Trump are looped in with political factors as well as greed on the road to success. The movie is filled with over-the-top humor and egotistical tones which drive home the idea of someone who wants to be more than what they are worth The Apprentice does not highlight the presidential days of Trump but highlights the era when he was creating businesses and buying buildings. The strategies he employed to navigate systems and rotate the cards is what The Apprentice is all about.

Sebastian Stan plays Donald Trump in the days when Trump was discovering the building blocks for his own success. With a family to support him and high aspirations, Stan does an excellent job portraying the egotistical attitude Trump displayed to boost his own worth above those around him. Trump has housing and real estate plans that he wants to move forward with, but many of them are complicated due to taxes, licensing, and other issues. Playing by the rules and obeying the letter of the law do not come easy to Trump. He hires Roy Cohn (played by Jeremy Strong), and from that point on, the era of Trump’s ability to make money by pursuing many different avenues turns into his hallmark.

The film is funny while also maintaining a serious vibe. With Strong in the role as Cohn, he presents an attitude that is never willing to accept defeat. He also rides all the political tides and finds tactical ways to get around obstacles and the law. The box of tricks he teaches Trump creates the pinnacle of an ego that will always find a way to rise to the occasion. With many events in the film being based on true stories, some viewers may find The Apprentice appealing and some may despise it. The main political parts, however, are focused on Trump’s early days inbusiness and the development of his properties. The film also delves into his relationship with Cohn and their shared determination to win at any cost. Both Stan and Strong give believable performances of men striving to the point of no sacrifice.

Trump’s backstory is a bit rushed, especially when it involves moments which include scenes with Ivana Trump (played by Maria Bakalova). The scenes in The Apprentice showing Trump wanting to grow faster, richer, and even feel more powerful are done masterfully. He is clearly one-of-a-kind. Although, his ultimate rise to the presidency is not covered in the film, the foundation for what lies ahead is put in place. Stan shines as Trump and Strong shines as Cohn. Their egos cause them to battle, but The Apprentice also relays back to Trump battling himself and his merits when he is dealing with more than he can handle. The Apprentice gets ugly and may receive all kinds of mixed reactions due to the mind-boggling details of what happened in Trump’s early days. Three-and-a-half stars.