Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, the upcoming Bruce Springsteen biopic starring Jeremy Allen White, is set to be released later this year. However, on Friday, the film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado, resulting in the first critic reviews of this highly-anticipated release.

Most reviews are positive, praising White’s portrayal of an artist grappling with both his personal identity and his creative struggles. The film is based on the 2023 book Deliver Me From Nowhere, written by Warren Zanes, the same author behind the best-selling Petty: The Biography. Unlike other biopics, this one focuses on a specific period in Springsteen’s life when he wrote and recorded his deeply intimate, lo-fi 1982 album, Nebraska. Fans of the Boss know that Nebraska is distinct from Springsteen’s other albums and is often considered his best.

Film critics highlight this distinction.

“If some fans go in expecting a greatest hits package, think again,” Pete Hammond of Deadline wrote. “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere is the real deal, an intelligent, deliberately paced journey into the soul of an artist.”

The “real deal” is achieved, Deadline emphasizes, largely thanks to White, who studied for months with a vocal and guitar coach despite having no prior musical experience: “He is utterly convincing on every count, but this is no mere SNL-style imitation. White captures the essence of the man without copying him; the transformation is stunning, reminiscent of what Sissy Spacek accomplished playing Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner’s Daughter, even as, like White, the legend she portrayed was very much alive and watching. No pressure there at all, right?”

READ MORE: Bruce Springsteen Album Opening Songs Ranked

Focusing on this one moment in Springsteen’s career has its drawbacks. As Peter Debruge wrote in Variety, the film “doesn’t do nearly enough to contextualize” how Nebraska was made: one songwriter alone in his bedroom with a four-track recording machine. By 2025 standards, that may not seem impressive — many artists make albums at home today — but in the early ’80s, this was not the norm.

“It’s hard to imagine those under 30 recognizing the significance of a star like Springsteen making an album in his bedroom — not his first but his sixth — which made it all the more radical — effectively paving the way for the DIY indie-rock sound that followed,” Debruge wrote. “But without that background, it’s a fairly dull story.”

Watch the Trailer for 'Deliver Me From Nowhere'

The music is important and speaks for itself, even if Nebraska is an acoustic album.

“The impressive production delivers notably in terms of sound,” David Rooney wrote in The Hollywood Reporter. “A Power Station scene where the E Street Band takes a first run at ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ is exhilarating; however, the music overall is less prominent than expected. At times, the bio-drama feels emotionally underpowered, but there’s a melancholic beauty in Springsteen’s decision to set aside surefire hits like ‘Born in the U.S.A.,’ ‘Glory Days,’ and ‘I’m on Fire’ until he got Nebraska out of his system.”

Deliver Me From Nowhere will be released in theaters on Oct. 24.