Passable biopic but not convinced

Rating: 6/10 (6 May 2020)

Inclined to agree with most of the other reviews here, that Dano is great as the younger Wilson, Cusack poor (or else just miscast) as the older one. I've never counted myself much of a Beach Boys fan, nevertheless I was interested to learn more about the tortured artist Brian Wilson, and even prepared to believe he was some kind of unrecognised genius. I wasn't persuaded in the end, though what is clear is that he was vastly more creative than his bandmates or siblings, who would cheerfully have kept making bubble gum music forever. He obviously had a lot more to say, but it was never going to work within what was essentially a cheesy medium, surf music. So the movie oscillates between the sublime and the ridiculous - and to that extent is perhaps an accurate portrayal!