I walked out of there thinking: who is this for, beyond the hard core fans? Hard core fans are probably going to like it; it does a pretty authentic job of capturing that time frame. But there's so much about it that I don't get, in terms of why they thought this would be a commercial film for the general public. I don't get it.
I know there are tons of Bruce fans around the world. Tons. He's my hero. But except for fans like me: who is this for?
Here's just one question I have, of a million: Nebraska is, in my opinion, one of the greatest works of art in the history of rock and roll. It's a stunner. It came literally otu of nowhere; at a time where I was already an obsessive fan of Springsteen's. And I listened to this record endlessly; i've listened to it endlessly for over 40 years. Brilliant and haunting. To this day, the impact of the record on the world of artists is incalculable; movies have been made just about specific songs from the record (looking at you Sean Penn).
However: outside of the fans, there are no songs on this record that anybody in the general public knows. There are no hits; no songs from it were ever played on the radio, top 40 or FM classic rock alike. And so, you're making a movie about a time in Bruce's life where he's not even making commercial music! So again: who is this for, beyond the hardcore fan base?
There is one electrifying moment in the film that to me did a great job of capturing the excitement and thrill of Springsteen's music. When he was alone, after The River tour, and started writing a whole bunch of songs, those songs would ultimately become Nebraska and Born in the USA. One of the greatest songs he wrote during this period was the song Born in the USA; originally he wrote it as an acoustic number; bitter, angry, haunting. Later, when he tried to convert the songs from acoustic, and change them into E Street Band Songs, Born in the USA is probably the one that converted over the best . From the very first time they tried it, it was EPIC. And so, that song did not end up on Nebraska; it became the title track of the album AFTER Nebraska. Nebraska are all those stark, black as night songs, with tinges of murder and suicide, each of which sounded best recorded alone on a 4 track tape deck . But Born in the USA, well, everyone knows that one, because it did convert over to the band format very well (understatement).
In the movie, they show the band playing the song for the first time, as a rock anthem. And it's incredible; and you see everyone that's there, in the sound room, to the musicians themselves, and they all know they have something great. It's done really well in the film, and it's truly wonderful to see that moment on film. And then you see how he can't get the other tracks to sound as great with the band as they sound on that simple, primitive recording he made of the songs in his bedroom and bathroom (they don't show much of Bruce recording in the bathroom LOL). And you learn about how Nebraska was made to a certain extent and the immediate aftermath.
But other than that sequence, nobody knows those songs. Nobody knows Atlantic City. Nobody knows Johnny 99, or My Father's House, or Reason to Believe. All of them masterpieces. The public? Nothing.
This isn't a life story; it doesn't show the rise of his career; it shows a very specific place and time in his life.
I really liked it; but I'm an enormous fan. I don't know who is going to see this.
