Review of Love & Mercy (2015) by Cole J — 07 Jun 2015

Love & Mercy brings its protagonist to life in a way that few other biopics do. The schizophrenic Brian Wilson, with all of his troubles and oddities, still feels completely understandable, and that's quite a triumph. This is the kind of movie that's engaging and entertaining because of the character driven drama, not just the stuff that the people in the movie do.

Dano and Cusack each craft two sides of the same person, seeming to play off of each other even though they're never seen together. Dano's version is a younger Wilson, at a creative peak and at the start of his mental issues, and Cusack plays the older Wilson, with his issues having taken hold of his life, and a struggling relationship with a new woman. This is the unconventional but extremely affective way that this biopic is told. Dano and Cusack probably share an equal amount of screen time, and this unfolds the character with twice the depth. We come to understand both Wilson's skillfully at the same time as the film switches back and forth. Knowing the man in two states, after seeing the film, feels like the only way to truly know him.

I knew almost nothing about this movie, or Brian Wilson before I came into the theater. Because of this, I noticed how Wilson, as well as several other characters in the film, are revealed to us by time. If you didn't know Wilson was schizophrenic before watching, you wouldn't for quite a while into the film. It chooses to reveal its characters like how we get to know people: we see how they behave, and as we spend time with them, understand their struggles and depths.

Giamatti's Eugene Landy and Elizabeth Banks's Melinda work in similar ways. Giamatti is a scene stealer as Landy, sometimes very funny, and sometimes not all after his character's motivations are revealed. Banks is excellent at convincing us of her character's emotional connection with Wilson, even though it's a seemingly strange combination.

One of the film's great achievements was that I felt that I understood Wilson's schizophrenia so much that to even think of describing him as insane feels completely inappropriate. He was a creative spirit in need of solitude and freedom, and the world, as well as important people in his life, were unable to give that to him. It's extremely rare in a movie to find that level of depth in a mentally unstable character. Audiences can relate to him as artists or creative people, or just people who have too many others trying to pull them in directions away from their own.

In the end, we get a clip of the real Brian Wilson singing Love & Mercy, and understand what the song means to him. This is an emotionally satisfying and entertaining movie because of how the film treats and understands its characters. Other biopics can place too much emphasis on the physical achievements of their subjects, but this one knows where the good stuff is and how to access it while avoiding conventions with ease. I think everyone will enjoy this movie and go see it.