Review of Love & Mercy (2015) by Leah T — 27 Nov 2015
Brian Wilson's records Pet Sounds and, in another story, falls in love with a car dealer.
This film alternates between two stories of Brian Wilson's life, and both are compelling and incredibly well-acted. John Cusack and Paul Dano are at top form, and their performances are the highlights of this strong, interesting, and heartfelt film. Paul Giamatti plays older Wilson's psychiatrist cum legal guardian, who is scamming Wilson for his fortune and talent, and younger Wilson's Beach Boys brethren vie for control of the band, the artistic sense of which Wilson wants to take in new Beatles-imitation directions.
For a while, I was so compelled by the pitch-perfect story-telling and wonderful performances that I considered whether Love and Mercy might be the best film of the year, better than Ex Machina, but no, sadly, Elizabeth Banks's role fall in to the "helping woman" cliche, and there are some objectiveless, wandering scenes that only Dano's talent makes interesting.
Overall, God only know what would be a better Brian Wilson biopic.
This review of Love & Mercy (2015) was written by Leah T on 27 Nov 2015.
Love & Mercy has generally received very positive reviews.
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