Review of Love & Mercy (2015) by Foxgrove — 15 Jul 2015

A refreshingly unfamiliar bio-pic which isn’t one of those conventional rags to riches stories so beloved of the genre, but which artistically are more often than not seen it all before pedestrian. This is a riveting, astoundingly well-acted drama concerning the mental illness afflicting The Beach Boys’ singer composer Brian Wilson, a story of which I knew absolutely nothing.

The original screenplay splits its running time between the younger Brian, struggling with group responsibilities as his grip on reality loosens, and the older one who is now a physical and emotional wreck in the care of people who really don’t care about him at all.

Director Bill Pohlad’s direction is lean and imaginative and through his actors unfolds a compelling story. As the girl who falls for and reaches out to Brian, Elizabeth Banks does some beautifully subtle and understated work conveying much without saying a word, particularly in her powerful scenes with Paul Giamatti as Brian’s unscrupulous therapist. Giamatti himself at first glance seems to be saddled with a clichéd cypher of a role, but the actor’s proven talent brings to the fore a true monster. Dano who is great at playing edgy or slightly off centre characters is in his element here as the younger Brian starting to lose control, but, amazingly, the real revelation is John Cusack as the older incarnation of the troubled singer/ composer. Cusack has often been an actor whose performances have tended to lack colour and shading, journeyman at best. Here, however, he is so much more. In a touching and compelling bit of acting he holds you spellbound whenever he is on screen.

The Beach Boys music permeates the film, but the story does not serve as its slave. Also, unusually, there are not any substantial concert scenes of which to speak. These are often perfunctorily thrown in when dealing with singers or groups and it is to the credit of the story that this gimmicky device was not deemed necessary in this particular instance. Period detail, most notably the costumes worn by Banks, is excellent and the sound is great. One of the best films of the year, thankfully, comes out in a summer when the season thus far has proved to be depressingly sillier than usual.