Could be Called the Brian Wilson Journey into Madness

Rating: 8/10 (19 November 2015)

Love & Mercy is the story of the making of the Beach Boys, but mostly it is the story of Brian Wilson's growth as an artist as well as his struggles with mental illness.
Widely believed to be a composing genius by critics and his musical contemporaries, Wilson was the driving force behind the creation of the Beach Boys. The band created a unique sound that projected a characteristic Southern California style of living which included sandy beaches, surfing, girls in bikinis and fast cars. The innocence of the lyrics and the wholesome appearance of the bank masked the dark side of rock and roll of that era. Upbeat songs like "Help Me, Rhonda," "Fun, Fun, Fun ('til her Daddy took the T-bird away), "Surfer Girl" and many others created a vision of a happy beach life, but Wilson was an alcoholic and drug addict who could not get out of his bed for years at a stretch.
The film focuses on a period of Brian's life when he was supervised by a psychologist named Eugene Landy, played by Paul Giamatti. This story was the subject of a "60-Minutes" segment long ago. Dr. Landy took complete control over Brian, moving Brian into his home while Landy took up residence in Brian's mansion. Landy would not allow Brian to contact his brothers, his children or his friends for long periods of time. Landy tried to control every bite of food, every pill and every minute of his time. Charging Brian $40,000 per month for "therapy," Landy had no other clients and lived with the musician 24 hours per day.
The only outsider allowed to see Brian was Melinda, played by Elizabeth Banks. Melinda was a Cadillac salesperson who sold Brian a car but became his confidant, and, eventually, his wife.
Melinda was able to save Brian from the clutches of Landy, who was eventually stripped of his license to practice and whose diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia was overturned by more competent medical people.
The film explores a period of explosive creativity during which he records his greatest musical achievement "Pet Sounds," an album which musicians universally admire. Brian was able to translate sounds in his head into musical scores without the band. Brian's ideas became more complex and difficult to play. He employed the hit-maker machinery of the time called, "The Wrecking Crew," a group of 20-30 session musicians who were anonymously on most of the hit records of the era.
The film describes the tension between the working band on the road constantly and the composer who rarely left the house as well as the frustration of dealing with serious mental illness and acute substance abuse. Mike Love and the other band members wanted more of the old stuff, but Brian writing ever more complex music.
Probably some nominations in the coming awards season for acting, script and score.