On the crest of a wave

Rating: 4/10 (13 June 2016)

Love & Mercy is the story of Brian Wilson, the creative heart and also the troubled mind of The Beach Boys and it takes place in two time streams.
Paul Dano plays the younger Brian who slowly descents into madness (with the help of drugs and booze not quiet touched in the film) as he moves away from the popular west coast surf sound and into the more experimental Pet Sounds album. This portion of the film was the best as we see the recording and singing process and his interaction with the rest of the band and his stern, overpowering father who sold away his publishing rights.
John Cusack is the older Wilson, his scenes are set in the 1980s when he is under the care and medications of his overpowering, manipulative and Svengali like psychotherapist, Dr Landy (Paul Giamatti.) Love, understanding and eventual escape from the clutches of Dr Landy comes from (Melinda Ledbetter) Elizabeth Banks, a Cadillac car saleswoman who went on to become his wife.
The film was just too disjointed and uneven with the Cusack segments being weaker, not helped that his performance was overshadowed by Banks and Giamatti who with his wig looked scarily similar to Phil Spector.