Quality biopic about Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson

Rating: 8/10 (26 June 2015)

Love & Mercy is a biopic of Brian Wilson the creative force behind the Beach Boys. It begins with a montage over the opening credits showing the band at the peak of their popularity playing some of their most famous songs at various gigs and performances. Once the film begins properly it focuses on two different periods simultaneously. The earlier is the period just after the Beach Boys commercial peak when Wilson retreats from touring with the band after a panic attack and instead concentrates fully on work in the recording studio on the way to recording the album Pet Sounds, the single 'Good Vibrations' and the ill-fated album Smile; during this phase his mental health begins to deteriorate. The later period the film focuses on is from the late 80's when Wilson is inactive artistically and under the influence of a manipulative psychotherapist. He meets a Cadillac saleswoman who he begins a relationship with and who helps him emerge from his zombie-like situation.
The non-linear approach taken to bringing Wilson's story to the screen is unusual for a music biopic. It works well here though and each side of the story contrasts with the other nicely. Both versions of Wilson are played by two quite dis-similar looking actors, with Paul Dano as the younger man and John Cusack as the older version. At first this is a little distracting but the quality of the individual performances ensure that very soon we are drawn in and fully believes that each is the same man. The later story is also helped by a couple of great performances from Elizabeth Banks as Melinda, Wilson's saviour and Paul Giamatti as Dr. Eugene Landy his antagonist. The latter was a sort of replacement for Wilson's overbearing father from the earlier part of the story. Both these men tried to exert a lot of control over Wilson and had a similar negative effect on him. Melinda by contrast is the light in this tale and was the one person who was most interested in what was best for Wilson and her appearance represents the love story of the film.
As a music biopic this one most delivers with the behind the scenes sequences in the recording studio where a few key songs are played out before us. It's here that we witness the recording of both Pet Sounds and 'Good Vibrations', regarded by many as one of the best albums and singles, respectively. We see Wilson become obsessed with the complex recording of both, where he utilised a large group of session musicians to create a full ambitious sound and marginalised the actual band in the process. While 'Good Vibrations' went on to be a big hit, Pet Sounds would sell poorly by Beach Boys standards and this, along with Wilson's increased intake of LSD would hasten the deterioration of his mental well-being.
On the whole, this is a nicely original music biopic that is so well rounded and focused on psychological aspects that it will appeal to people who may not even be Beach Boys fans.