"Well it works in my head. It's all playing in my head."

Rating: 8/10 (30 January 2019)

When Brian Wilson was going through his rough patch with mental illness, it wasn't unusual to see or hear comics taking a poke at the musician and having some fun at his expense. Rob Bartlett's impersonation of Wilson on the now defunct Imus in the Morning radio program immediately comes to mind. But seeing what the man went through in this thoughtful biopic, even if just a cursory glance, is revealing in a way that's both introspective and respectful. I never followed the individual personalities in The Beach Boys, but enjoyed their music as much as anyone growing up as a teenager in the Sixties. Knowing a bit more about them today, it was interesting to watch the family dynamic as Brian was attempting to explore different musical stylings while the general consensus was to stick with what made the band famous. In that regard, it was cousin Mike Love's (Jake Abel) influence that seemed to have the most sway, and who was the most vocal in trying to bring Brian back in line with his brothers.
The period involving the production of 'Pet Sounds' was particularly apt, as The Beach Boys had this artistic competition with The Beatles over musical supremacy in the country. It was true that Paul McCartney acknowledged 'Pet Sounds' as the best album ever, though that's a rather humbling stance to take when you consider "Sgt. Pepper', 'Abbey Road', and 'The White Album' in comparison. The one scene that really staggered me was when Brian Wilson played the piano in his own home and it was situated in a sandbox! A sandbox - how much more Beach Boy can you get?
The galling part of the story, in as much as Wilson was dealing with his personal demons, was the presence of the scurrilous Dr. Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti). One would have to consider how much better the musician might have fared if he had someone working in his best interest instead of pursuing personal selfish motives. Wilson's father (Bill Camp) wasn't much help either; his sale of the Beach Boys music rights was an outright betrayal of the highest order.
The only qualm I really have with the movie was the use of two actors to portray Wilson. There appears to have been an aesthetic reason for doing so, as it delineated the two very different aspects of Wilson's musical career before and after his breakdown. However for this viewer it served as a distraction that kept rearing it's head with the chronological shifts in the story. Both Paul Dano and John Cusack were effective in their portrayals, but Dano looked more like the former Beach Boy. Since the way today's techniques of aging a character with makeup are done so effectively, I would have preferred Dano throughout the entire story.