Last year I was enamored with Timothy Chalamet led biopic on Bob Dylan. I saw every best picture nominee that year and it was one of my favorites. I’m a big Jeremy Allen White fan and had high expectations for another engaging biopic.
I was unfortunately let down. One thing I loved about A Complete Unknown was how it transported me back into that time period. It really felt like getting back into a Time Machine with the outfits, sets, and overall charm. Springsteen lacked that same magnetic pull. The only Time Machine I wanted was one to bring me to the end of the movie.
The main issue for me was pacing and connection. The movie is all about how Springsteen wrote the Nebraska album. It comes from a dark place in his life and he struggles with those demons and understanding just what he wants the tracks to be. He writes some bangers, but then decides that’s not what he wants to put out. He battles depression and those traumatic feelings from his childhood that we learn about through flashbacks. It’s a solid premise, but they decided to let it develop at a snails pace.
The love interest garnered zero interest from me. They speedrun them getting to know each other and then ended it before we really got to know them. I believe the point was to show how Springsteen was engulfed in his process, but it also felt shoehorned in there. I didn’t care or buy the connection that they shared in that short period.
I loved Jeremy Strong as the manager. He was extremely supportive of Springsteen and I kept expecting him to have a villain arc. However, this is ultimately based on Springsteens real life and the antagonist is his past. Sure the labels are upset that he doesn’t want press, singles, and a tour, but they have to cave to someone as big as him.
No Oscar contender here. It needed more life in it to feel like a breath of fresh air. Instead it felt more like Springsteen recording Nebraska on his cassette tape and deciding that it needed no further edits.
Rating: 294/1000
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