7/10

Brian Wilson, the lead singer of the legendary group, The Beach Boys, struggles with mental health among a life blurred by medicinal drugs, in the biopic of his life in “Love and Mercy”. Set against the era defining catalog of Wilson’s music, the film intimately examines the personal journey and ultimate salvation of the icon whose success came at extraordinary personal cost and immense sacrifice. The film (Like it’s protagonist) is often times a blur of scenes being connected to form this big examination of this man’s life, and while that is the point of the film, it doesn’t make for the most entertaining movie. Make no mistake about it, this film is an actor’s piece, and if it wasn’t for those actors, “Love and Mercy” would sink into forgettable depths with scenarios that are a little overexaggerated. I am a big Beach Boys fan, and have read a couple books based on Wilson’s extraordinary struggle with depression and the abusive relationship with his father. It’s all taken at face value for this film, and unfortunately we don’t get to see much of that relationship with his father when Wilson was a child. Much praise goes to John Cusack and Paul Dano for including the noticable quirks of Wilson’s speech to their performances. Cusack has been on a long road of shame for the last few years with some less than thrilling choices for accepted roles, but he gets back on track as the 80’s version of Mr. Wilson. It’s in his scenes that we see the most wear and tear of a life lived sheltered and tortured from a control freak doctor (The amazing Paul Giamatti) who makes decision for Brian. I was a little worried about Cusack being chosen for this role after the casting of Dano because he doesn’t look like his co-star or the singer in question. But he adds a childlike innocence to the role to show the audience that a real person is in there suffering through this melancholy blur of pill popping. Dano completely steals the film, although Giamatti is a damn close second. In his half of the film, we see the genius of this legendary songwriter at work. He is facing a father who tells him he can’t do it, and a band he is alienating by instead opting for orchestral musicians creating new sounds. Paul has always been a very underrated actor, and i wouldn’t be surprised in the least if he gets an Oscar nomination for this role. On top of his performance, is some of the best sound editing/mixing that i have heard in 2015. The audience is played with many times wondering if they really heard these faint noises being represented in Wilson’s head, and it’s done so well to make us feel like we are in Brian’s head. If it wasn’t for such an incoherent script, this would be one of the year’s very best. I do love the idea of having these kind of two films play out simultaneously with the young Wilson in 1966, as well as the narrative modern day of Wilson being a recluise in the early 1990’s. One isn’t done before the other, as they both play off each other back and forth granting equal time to both fascinating stories. But if i could change anything about the film’s narrative approach, it would be more in showing what Brian sees and less emotionless looks from the two actors who play him. As it stands, i would say that the film is a good (not great) one for any Beach Boys fan. While the movie doesn’t always focus on the group, it does give some nice behind the scenes reveals about how tough it was for them to get on the same page while making one of the greatest albums of all time, Pet Sounds.