A biopic like no other!

Rating: 10/10 (14 November 2015)

It's hard to know where to start with this movie. It is a mesmerising voyage through key parts of Brian Wilson's life. It also shows us what a musical genius he is and certainly made me ask myself whether he'd have been capable of producing all the incredible music if he hadn't been afflicted with the psychological problems that have affected him to varying degrees throughout his life.
The movie cleverly avoids flooding the viewer with wall-to-wall Beach Boys hits, just feeding us snippets of songs as they were being worked on in studio sessions. And, BTW, kudos to Paul Dano for singing some of the tracks himself.
Dano and Cusack give stellar performances as the younger and older Brian Wilson, respectively. This is not typical material for Cusack, really, and he carries off the role with aplomb. The supporting cast are also excellent, particularly Paul Giamatti (Does he ever turn in a bad performance? I can't think of any!) and Elizabeth Banks.
It's a shame that Love and Mercy didn't get a wider cinema release and I'm sure a lot of people may not even be aware of its existence. But it rally is a superb movie and I encourage everybody to check it out. You won't be disappointed.