An excellent film of talent triumphing without super-human powers.

Rating: 8/10 (11 July 2015)

Love & Mercy Hits the High and the Low Notes of Wilson's Life
Love and Mercy is new film about Brian Wilson's long history with mental illness and how he struggled through it to write, Pet Sounds and other well known works including their best selling, "Good Vibrations."
His father and his brothers pathologically compete against the music for Brian's attention in his early years. In his later years, Dr. Landry played with slimy precision by Paul Giamatti, takes control of his life, his finances and his music like a parasite.
Many of the causes of Wilson's mental illness are shown in the film without excessive analysis. The film only hints at whether being mentally unhinged can lead to great art. I don't know, but what I do know is that it has been part of Brian Wilson's creative process from the start of the Beach Boys.
The album Pet Sounds, written almost entirely by Brian Wilson, also has a starring role. The film does well in portraying Wilson's manic, creative composing style. He has command over what is being played, how it is being played, the rhythm, the attack on the notes, everything. His brilliance is confirmed in the film "The Wrecking Crew." In that documentary, many of the studio musicians discussed Wilson's command and artistry of the music.
Today, Pet Sounds is considered one of the greatest pop albums of all times by a majority of critics. At the time, however, many critics panned the album. In the film, his brothers take this opportunity to chide him for the bad reviews, saying that he had veered too far from the "Beach Boy's sound." Co-founder of the band Mike Love is portrayed as a real jerk at this moment and throughout the film, trying to bully Brian into abandoning his new musical direction. Today, the audience knows that Wilson was correct about the album. It is a master work.
And by the way, Love wrote most of the tepid, cloying and adolescently simple-minded lyrics for the Beach Boys. His part of the song-writing is the weakest part of their songs.
The film starts in the near past with John Cusack playing Wilson as an older man. The film switches further back into the past to show cleverly filmed reenactments of the the Beach Boys on tour with Paul Dano playing the younger Wilson on stage. Dano outshines John Cusack in the beginning of the film. However, as the film continues, the situation Wilson finds himself in as a middle aged man clarifies itself, making Cusack's underplayed acting more powerful and Wilson more sympathetic.
Facts about Pet Sounds http://mentalfloss.com/article/59457/15-facts-about-pet-sounds
McCartney's Comments on Pet Sounds http://albumlinernotes.com/Paul_McCartney_Comments.html
Rating: Pay full price.
You don't have to be a Beach Boys fan to appreciate the story of an artist who struggles through adversity. Wilson prevails without parades, cheering crowds, or phone calls from the president. He is down to earth and human, not otherworldly. In a film industry that is currently obsessed with superheroes, it's nice to see a film where a talented, regular guy succeeds.
Peace, Tex Shelters