Love & Mercy (2014) ***

Rating: 7/10 (10 July 2015)

Though not many will be able to tell by the title, this is a bio film on Brian Wilson, the genius behind The Beach Boys. The feature is well designed by going back and forth from the "young Brian" of the 1960's (Paul Dano) and the "middle-aged Brian" of the 1980's (John Cusack). In the '60s we witness 20-something pop star Wilson starting to develop anxiety disorders and mental psychosis, and he has to deal with an overbearing and abusive father ... yet he is still compelled to take the old surfing sounds of the earlier Beach Boys to a higher level. Inspired by The Beatles' RUBBER SOUL album, Brian delves into more experimental territory and spearheads the unusual PET SOUNDS project which is now thought to be one of most classic and influential albums ever made. When jumping into the '80s we encounter Brian as a frail and troubled shell of a man, and under the unscrupulous control of Dr. Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti), who humiliates and dominates him. But Wilson is headed for a road to recovery when he meets Melinda Ledbetter (Elizabeth Banks) who takes an interest in him and sees Dr. Landy for what he really is.
A good film overall, this really succeeds due to the effective performances. Though I liked Dano and Cusack as the young and old Brian (even if Cusack doesn't quite look like Wilson), it was Paul Giamatti's turn as the opportunistic "Dr. Feelgood" which stood out best. The only flaw I found was that I felt perhaps the movie could have done better in showing us just how talented the young Brian was, and how he was able to accomplish so much. As it appears in the story, Brian is so screwed up that it becomes hard to conceive how this individual managed to achieve what he did. I think we needed more of the "creative genius" Wilson in addition to the "troubled" Wilson. *** out of ****