Almanac (Film) Review: A Deep Dive Into ‘The Boss’

 

 

 

A friend recently mentioned that biopics should be the reserve for subjects that are dead.

 

I understand his view but when it comes to artists such as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen we are talking about fifty to sixty year careers that would require long mini-series to justify their output.

 

The recent Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, focussed on a seminal period in his career, his arrival in New York, the first two albums and the controversial change to electric at the Newport Folk Festival.

 

In Springsteen, Deliver Me To Nowhere, we find Bruce around 1981 quickly becoming a star after a string of successful albums in the 70s.

 

Albums such as Born To Run, Darkness On The Edge of Town and The River had established Bruce as a superstar at the ripe old age of thirty-one.

 

It all became somewhat disconcerting in his head and thankfully his best friend and manager John Landau was there to support him through thick and thin.

 

The most difficult ingredient of Bruce’s life was that he was worried about losing his working class roots having come from New Jersey and not wanting to become a commodity.

 

There are flashbacks to his childhood and the difficulty he had, especially with his Dad played very well by Stephen Graham.

 

Bruce becomes very introspective and a combination of events start to form the songs that become his brilliant album Nebraska, my personal favourite.

 

For aficionados of ‘The Boss’, I’m sure you will find the making of Nebraska absolutely fascinating. It was also interesting to see that the songs for Born In The USA were written around the same time.

 

For us oldies who used to painstakingly put together compilation tapes for friends, you won’t believe the origins of Nebraska and how eventually the studio produced the final, stunning ‘echoey’ sound of this classic album.

 

Bruce’s life has been documented a lot, very much in a similar vein to Dylan, and this story is faithful to his excellent autobiography Born To Run, especially his childhood.

 

The performances are very good, particularly the lead Jeremy Allen White who was chosen for the part despite having never played guitar or sung. His mannerisms are perfect.

 

Bruce’s battle with depression isn’t new to his fans and he’s always been a champion to those who suffer from it. It’s handled very well in the film and good on Bruce for confronting it on screen.

 

Our musical legends aren’t getting any younger so I’m rapt for both Bruce and Bob to give their thumbs up to these worthwhile projects. Hopefully it will be a healthy musical history lesson for the next generations. 8.5/10

 

Maybe the cantankerous Neil Young is next? Could it be his years with CSNY? or a period in Crazy Horse’s life?

 

Or is it The Rolling Stones? The documentary on the making of Exile On Main St is a cracker but there’s plenty of juicy stuff surrounding that period from Brian Jones’ death to Mick Taylor’s emergence as a truly great guitarist.

 

We will wait and see. I’m no aficionado of ‘The Boss’ but I have seen him live twice, thirty years apart. I was in an altered state in Brisbane for the Born In The USA tour and can’t remember much but saw him at Rod Laver all those years later.

 

After 3+ hours on stage I’m sure the reason he doesn’t go off and return for encores, is so he doesn’t seize up with a full body cramp! He is still the king of stadium rock and may he continue to thrill.

 

 

More from Ian Wilson can be read Here.

 

 

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