betty dalton Knowing little about the Beach Boys music except their well known hits, I did hear about this "doctor" who had the lead singer in an isolating grip. Many years Brian Wilson, the lead singer of the popular sixties Beach Boys band, had gone off the rails. Losing it mentally, he was addicted to medicine and was isolated by his "doctor" from the outside world. It really is a heartbreaking story. And this movie "Love and Mercy" has really made an awesome tribute to the music Brian Wilson made and to the wonderful person he was."Love and Mercy" tells 2 stories at the same time. One story about the young Brian Wilson who rose to fame as a musician, and one story about the older, addicted and isolated Brian Wilson, who has gone off the rails. The combination of the 2 stories really mix very fluently. The whole movie is edited in a way a good beach boys song would sound: in total harmony. John Cusack, Paul Dano and Elizabeth Banks all act at the top of their talents.Paul Dano actually seems to sing the songs for real and his resemblance to Brian Wilson is stunning. In the end I am really impressed and in awe of this movie. What a wonderful tribute. Goosebumps all over, because the end is so emotionally uplifting. Special praise for the way the music was remixed, it sounded from another planet so spacious, intense and beautiful. Wow. I would like to add a lot of more comments but in the end it is better to just let yourself get submersed in the music. Dont forget to watch the end credits in which the real Brian Wilson makes an appearance with the song Love and Mercy. "That is all what you and your friends need tonight..." as sung by the wonderfully talented Brian Wilson.

moonspinner55 Brian Wilson, the leader/producer/arranger of the popular 1960s group the Beach Boys, stays behind in the US when his brothers and cousin Mike Love tour Japan in order to write songs and lay down instrumental tracks for their next album, "Pet Sounds". His busy, creative life, tinged with bitterness over his tumultuous relationship with his father (whom the band had fired as their manager), is juxtaposed with Wilson's life in the '80s as a shattered man inching his way towards a healthier, more normal existence. Vivid, though exposition-heavy shuffling of episodes in Wilson's life and career, with a fussy, somewhat overblown production design in the '60s scenes (where Wilson is played by the impeccably-cast Paul Dano) counterbalanced by a deceptively bland calm in the '80s (with John Cusack portraying the older Brian as a possible paranoid schizophrenic under the thumb of possessive therapist Dr. Eugene Landry). The screenplay by Oren Moverman and Michael Alan Lerner, "based on the life of Brian Wilson," is well-researched if overwritten; every introduction to somebody new on-screen is followed by needless dialogue covering who they are and what they do. Dano could not be better as the younger Wilson, emulating the musician's budding genius and unassuming ego with an introspective, nice-guy personality (until he's pushed, when he becomes defensive though never arrogant). By contrast, Cusack doesn't fare as well. Whether or not Cusack and director Bill Pohlad were aiming for an impersonation here doesn't matter, as the actor's brand of nervous self-doubts and sad regrets have been well-documented on film, making it difficult to accept him in this role; under different circumstances--say, in a roman à clef--Cusack's performance would be solid, but his casting here (perhaps for box office cache) doesn't quite work. The film is a near-miss, but entertaining on the whole, with terrific recreations of Wilson and LA's the Wrecking Crew making musical magic in the recording studio. **1/2 from ****

cbddbc ...that I missed over an 18-year period, I am in 2014 and have finally seen "Love & Mercy" and wishing that I had started from 2016 and gone back because this is one helluva find.I don't do reviews. I don't do reviews because I am an amateur movie-watcher. But when I come across a gem like this I just want to say "Damn. That was one good movie." Oh, Elizabeth Banks. I guess that this was the first time that I had ever seen her in anything. I couldn't help but think that I HAD seen her before... but I was thinking of Elisabeth Shue in "Leaving Las Vegas." I will be looking at some of her films and TV appearances, now. Banks, Dano and Cusack are just brilliant - but a special nod has to go to Dano: he's the sun and everyone else is a planet - brilliant planets.And that's what I have to say about "Love & Mercy." For various reasons I've kept up with Brian Wilson's career as he returned to making astounding music and going from "Love You" ("The Beach Boys Love You:?) to "Brian Wilson." Is he a music genius? Probably -- If I were to meet him, I wouldn't tell him, though. I've never heard of anyone else write of Wilson as an influence on Steely Dan, but I hear it. I'm an admirer, a fan, and I see this as one of the finest biopics ever made... I know that it was Wilson-approved but I know, too, that the movie depicted Wilson's mental health problems realistically: watch some of the movements that Cusack/Wilson makes with his arms and there are the audio hallucinations, of course.A damned good movie. I'm not sure how I missed it. So glad that I saw it, though.

krocheav The backwards/forwards style and pacing of this movie may put some viewers off but those who stay with it should be enthralled. To date, this is possibly one of the most accessible screen example of telling a story in dual time frames using two different performers. The life of popular musical genius Brian Wilson is quite harrowing - from a manipulative, abusive father to an opportunistic and equally abusive quack "Dr" Eugene Landy. Landy stood to gain a large (and unworthy) share of Brian's legacy - and if not for the eventual intervention of various close family and friends would have succeeded in his attempts to drug Wilson to oblivion.The studio session scenes are highly revealing for the way they demonstrate the parallels of genius and mental instability. They also highlight the respect session musicians held for the time they spent working with Wilson. It seems this venue is possibly where Glen Campbell was introduced to Wilson - before being selected to stand in for Brian during a major tour. Performances, direction, photography and music combine to convincingly tell this talented artists troubled journey up to the present. The use of live, present day, concert footage during the end credits round off a compelling movie experience. While it might mean more to Beach Boys/Wilson followers or those who lived through the early years, it offers equal benefits to any follower of modern musical development.