The chimera called fame

Rating: 6/10 (17 May 2019)

The lifestyles that we used to be so jealous of when we were in our youth, have proved on so many occasions to be unhappy , shallow and tortured.
It seems that the gift of so called "genius" requires that some other aspect of your existence is taken away... like the ability to live a sane and orderly life.
Once you become rich and famous your chance of meeting anybody "normal" is similarly taken away from you and you become surrounded by charlatans and opportunists.
From that point on, you no longer control your own schedule and it's no wonder that so many pop stars, business execs and artists, develop mental illnesses and can no longer cope with the world.
"Genius" is a very narrow talent and doesn't often spill over into dealing with day to day affairs.
So it was (and probably still is) with Brian Wilson, truly gifted but equally messed up in the head. He turned out some fabulous songs, my favourite being "Good Vibrations" but he turned out just as much garbage.
It's only once you've had a few hit songs that you are allowed the indulgence of top quality professional musicians in your recording sessions and these musicians are the ones who were able to put his ideas into sounds.
This is the unbroken thread in all success stories, a gifted but troubled individual who gets a break by way of synchronicity.
All the right people come together at just the right time.... and then the aforementioned crepuscular charlatans and opportunists move in and wreck the train.
A good movie for one with a pop star as the subject, John Cusack is really good as the older Brian, Paul Dano not as good as Brian the younger (but still OK) and of course Giamatti, as the rogue opportunist, is just superb.
There's something missing with Elizabeth Banks' performance but it could be that it's hard to sympathise with a character that goes headlong into a relationship knowing that the partner is not much more than a zombie.