Love & Mercy

The 1950's and 1960's seemed like the perfect times to grow up, in terms of music culture. A lot of the greatest musicians came out of those two decades, one of them being the Brian Wilson. For those who don't know, Brian Wilson is best known for being one of the original members of the Beach Boys, writing and performing their songs, with their most famous album being “Pet Sounds.” What everybody knows about Wilson is from his performing life, but a lot of the stuff that happened in his personal life is a different and much darker story than you would imagine. Luckily for those curious, that story is brought to us in the bio-pic, “Love & Mercy.”

“Love & Mercy” depicts Wilson's life in two separate era's: In the 1960's, he suffers a panic attack and decides to resign from touring and work on “Pet Sounds,” which he believes will be the greatest album ever made. In the 1980's, Brian meets his second wife, Melinda, who helps him break away from the pharmacological and legal thrall of Eugene Landy.

Wilson didn't have much to input during the film's making, but he has said that the film was both factual and very tough to watch. After seeing the film myself, I can definitely see why he would say the latter. “Love & Mercy” is an emotionally intense film to sit through, but it's handled in the best possible way. Not only is this one of the best films of the year, it's one of the best musician bio-pics I've ever seen. The film's director, Bill Pohlad, and writers, Michael Alan Lerner and Oren Moverman, really knew how to handle such a work of history such as this one. It could have easily been a story that started out with the times in the 60's and then finish with the 80's, but this one cuts back and forth between the two. They show us Brian's decent into madness with trying to make an album at its most perfect, all the while showing him find love and feel happy again.

Paul Giamatti plays Eugene Landy, Brian's abusive therapist. Giamatti really gave a really chilling performance, showing us the kind of cold and bitter man Landy was, over-medicating and manipulating Brian to work on albums that way they both stay in business. It shows just how despicable he was and Giamatti was the perfect actor to handle that. Elizabeth Banks as Melinda was another performance that was handled with excellence. The chemistry she has with Brian onscreen, it's genuine and not at all like Banks is performing. You only see Melinda and her concerns for what happens to Brian the more she's with him. It feels like Banks might be a strong contender for Best Supporting Actress, but I doubt the Oscars are going to nominate her. If they do, I hope she walks away with the trophy, because she deserves it.

However, the two that I most definitely hope get nominated are the two that play Brian Wilson. Paul Dano and John Cusack give the best performances of their careers that are deserving of Oscar nominations. Much like with Banks as Melinda, I did buy that Cusack was Brian Wilson in the 80's with his confused and broken down presence, and that Dano was Wilson in the 60's with his ambition and conflicted mindset of hearing voices in his head. It was infectiously good to watch the two work off of others around them, and I don't care who gets the Supporting or Leading nomination, as long as they get nominated at the Oscars for their performances.

When I first saw this film back in June, after suffering through the mediocrity that was “Jurassic World,” I didn't really know what this film was about or even see a trailer for it prior. It was just one of those gambles that I made and luckily landed on the right color. I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend seeing this movie if you haven't. If you're a Beach Boys fan, there is no reason to say “no” to watching this. If you missed your chance to see this in theaters, don't miss your chance to watch it on home video.

Rating: 10/10