Ultimately, the piece collapses under the weight of del Toro’s vision, a muddled collage of tones that consistently underwhelms. It’s a beautiful collage that amounts to a surprisingly arduous execution.

It’s a masterful reflection on how grief tears us apart, and the ways in which we try to put ourselves back together again. It is a film that lingers long after the credits roll, embedding its quiet power into the viewer’s mind and heart, a meditation on loss that is both intimate and universal.

While it falls short of the brilliance of the “Nebraska” album itself, Cooper’s against-the-grain approach offers a refreshing antidote to the formulaic music biopic, delivering a bleak yet moving exploration of an artist in crisis.