‘They’re not brilliant, but they’re mine…’
The reason that people love Bruce Springsteen is because what he sings about is universal. The need to escape. The need to follow your dreams. Lots of women named Mary. But he does it in a way that isn’t corny or patronising. Springsteen makes everyone feel like they can do something. As the man himself says, nobody wins unless everybody wins. Blinded by the Light captures what makes the Boss so damn special to his millions of fans, that feeling of permanent adolescence, infinite longing, and it does so in a way that is genuinely heart-warming, beautiful even. One, two, three, four…
Javed (Viveik Kalra) is an awkward teenager from an Asian family trying to survive growing up in Luton in 1987. Systematic racism, the lack of a girlfriend and a domineering family all take their toll on Javed, but he finds solace in the most unlikely of places – the music of Bruce Springsteen.
Now. I’m a massive Springsteen fan. Every six months or so I revisit his entire back catalogue and just play it back to front. If pushed, I think I would probably say that Springsteen is perhaps the greatest songwriter of all time. It’s hard to put into words what the boss means to me, and I know because I’ve tried. Blinded by the Light does a great job in displaying what makes Springsteen so uniquely wonderful. In direct contrast to the way that the excretable Yesterday failed so spectacularly to do the same with the music of The Beatles.
Director Gurinda Chadha, working from his own screenplay, is speaking from experience. This is an autobiographical film, and Chadha’s undying love for Springsteen really shines through in every scene, as well as being reflected in the top notch song selections chosen for the soundtrack (particularly Promised Land – a massively underrated track).
I’m not sure if Blinded by the Light is gonna covert any Springsteen non-believers but for the rest of us, there is a hell of a lot to love here. Kudos also to Viveik Kalra who does a great job in grounding some of the film’s cheesier moments.
It’s a town full of losers…