Tag Archives: Scott Cooper

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere

The Bruce Springsteen movie is slow. It’s redundant. And a lot of the music featured is not the artist’s most popular music. Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere does not have the appeal of A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan movie from last year. That film had moments of joy and this new one is a bit more grim.

Is it unfair or unwise to compare this new movie to last year’s? Maybe. But that’s what I keep thinking about.

Jeremy Allen White is okay as Springsteen but this script would be challenging for any actor. To convey angst, discomfort and depression without physically acting out can’t be easy. Okay, there are couple of instances of acting out but mainly he keeps it inside. White gives it his best but the material is lacking.

The period depicted is the early 1980s. Springsteen has finished a tour and in his alone time he writes and records the songs that will become his Nebraska album. That album was released in 1982 and contains music that is not familiar to the general public. There ARE fans who say that Nebraska is their favorite Springsteen album. Just as there are people who say rutabagas are their favorite vegetable.

Some of the music in S:DMFN is excellent. The bits where Bruce is jamming classic oldies with a band at the Stone Pony, his old club in Asbury Park NJ, are fun. A performance of Born In The USA in a recording studio is a real killer. But the tone of the movie and some of the music is somber. 

Jeremy Strong plays Bruce’s manager Jon Landau who has to convince the CBS records honchos that Bruce wants to release these raw songs, originally recorded on a cassette machine in his bedroom, as his next album. Paul Walter Hauser plays Mike, who engineers those bedroom sessions. Odessa Young plays Bruce’s love interest Faye, who provides glimmers of happiness during this glum period of Springsteen’s life. Podcaster/comedian Marc Maron has a small role as a studio hand.

After Springsteen moves to Los Angeles, he seeks professional help to mitigate all his anguish. One can hope that the events depicted in S:DMFN might lead any moviegoers who have similar demons to get the counseling they need.

I’m a Springsteen fan. Saw him in concert four times. I believe Born To Run is among the greatest rock songs ever. So it feels weird that I am lukewarm about the movie.

Since Bruce sang about baseball in his song Glory Days and since the St. Louis Cardinals had a player named Scott Cooper for a season back in the 90s, let me put it this way: writer/director Scott Cooper was swinging for the fences but he got a standup double. Which is still a solid base hit.

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere is rated R.

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Black Mass

If you’ve seen the ads on TV, in print and on the web for Black Mass, you’ve seen Johnny Depp’s latest look. When he appears on the movie screen, with his blue/green eyes, thinning hair and bad front tooth, even if you’ve seen the ads, it’s still a stunning transformation.

Depp gives a mighty performance as James “Whitey” Bulger, a real-life notorious Boston criminal who committed numerous murders, many in a particularly violent manner, along with lesser felonies. For Depp, the role redeems him after several recent misfires. Award nominations will be forthcoming.

But Black Mass is more than just Depp. Director Scott Cooper deftly relates a complex narrative in two hours. The brooding soundtrack by Tom Holkenborg (AKA Junkie XL) complements perfectly the dark story and its gloomy look. The tight script is by Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth from the book by Boston Globe reporters Dick Lehr and Gerald O’Neill.

(Side note: Is it always cloudy in Boston? Based on this film, Mystic River, The Departed, The Town and others, it seems that the city is constantly under overcast skies.)

The story is told in flashbacks, framed by investigator interviews with Bulger lieutenants Steve Flemmi (Rory Cochrane) and Kevin Weeks (Jesse Plemons). In 1975, Bulger is a small-time hood. Soon, he forms an “alliance” with FBI agent and fellow “Southie” John Connolly (Joel Edgerton). They trade information. The deal helps the FBI take down Mafia interests in Boston, but also opens up those crime areas to Bulger and his cohorts.

The cast includes Benedict Cumberbatch as Whitey’s brother Billy Bulger, an elected official who somehow escapes being directly connected to his brother’s treachery. Dakota (Fifty Shades of Gray) Johnson plays Bulger’s girlfriend Lindsey, who is mother of Whitey Bulger’s son. The FBI crew includes Kevin Bacon, Adam Scott and David Harbour. Corey Stoll is a take charge U.S. attorney who is baffled by the FBI’s coddling of Bulger.

Black Mass has already generated controversy in Boston. Family members of those killed by Bulger are upset that the movie shows his humanity. This week, Depp said of the character: “There’s a man who loves. There’s a man who cries. There’s a lot to the man.” (Yes, and John Wayne Gacy gave great clown shows for the kids.)

Just as there are many sides to Whitey Bulger, there are many aspects of Black Mass beyond its central character. Depp is excellent. So is the rest of the movie.

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Out of the Furnace

Gritty is the best word to describe the setting, the characters and the story in Out of the Furnace. Director Scott Cooper, who struck gold in 2009 with his rookie effort Crazy Heart, falls a bit short with OOTF. He has assembled a strong cast that works hard to tell a revenge story that’s, unfortunately, not unlike other revenge stories.

The Baze brothers, Russell (Christian Bale) and Rodney (Casey Affleck) live in the rundown town of North Braddock, PA, just a few miles up the Monongahela from Pittsburgh. Russell goes to work at the town’s steel mill where his father worked. Rodney wants something different. He seeks it via gambling and bare knuckle fighting.

One night while driving after drinking a few beers, Russell hits another car, killing a kid. He goes to prison for a brief sentence. Rodney, meanwhile, goes to the Iraq war and returns with demons.

When Rodney runs up gambling debts to John (Willem Dafoe), he begs for a chance to earn money in a fight in a backwoods venue run by outlaw Harlan DeGroat (Woody Harrelson). Harlan is a meth dealer, a killer and an all-around bad egg. The film’s opening scene demonstrates his temper and abusive behavior.

The fight is vicious. Rodney takes the dive he promised, but, as he and John return to town, Harlan and his henchmen block their way and detain them. Russell then plots his course of revenge.

Local police chief Wesley Barnes (Forest Whittaker) warns Russell against chasing down the culprit on his home turf. When Russell goes after Harlan anyway, the rural cop (who’d been alerted by Barnes) sends him home. Ultimately the showdown occurs back in North Braddock after Russell lures Harlan to town.

Zoe Saldana appears as Russell’s girlfriend. Sam Sheppard has a small role as Russell’s uncle.

Cooper hits several sweet notes in the film, including an effective sequence that cuts back and forth between a deer hunt and a boxing match. And the acting talent he has assembled is impressive. But once the film’s story is established, its outcome is predictable.

Christian Bale again shows his range as an actor in this working class tale. His strong performance may be the best reason to see Out of the Furnace.

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