In this moving depiction of Bruce Springsteen’s making of the 1982 album Nebraska, there’s a scene where a young Bruce sits with his father Douglas (a nuanced performance by Stephen Graham) in a cinema watching The Night Of The Hunter. That film was the last one Charles Laughton ever directed and writer/director Scott Cooper draws parallels with the creative output of The Boss whose team were worried that the release of such a dark record, inspired partly by Terrence Malick’s Badlands, would render him unmarketable. Retrospectively we know it didn’t, even if it was an album he refused to do any publicity for.

Cooper turns Springsteen’s struggles into a tender portrait of a man afraid not only of fame at the cusp of international stardom following the release of The River but also of confronting his personal demons. Jeremy Allen White ably fills Springsteen’s signature 501s and leather jacket with an intense and affecting performance that’s softened by a romance narrative with single mum Faye (Odessa Young). It’s the film’s weakest element, with it falling into hokey biopic tropes. However, Cooper veers away from hagiography and uses the rock bio template to delve into psychological turmoil and the nurturing relationship between Springsteen and his manager/producer Jon Landau (a superb Jeremy Strong).

Flashbacks to family life in Freehold, New Jersey, with a volatile, alcoholic father illustrate the darkness Springsteen was running away from, but it would have also been illuminating to show what a massive influence his mother Adele (Gaby Hoffmann)had on his love for music. This Springsteen approved biopic is based on Warren Zanes’ book which provides great insight on The Boss’ creative process. Cooper has translated it into a searing and deeply sincere reflection on mental health and a lament for a lost generation of men who weren’t given the tools or permission to seek help.

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere is in cinemas from Friday 24 October.