Love & Mercy

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THE NASHVILLE I In honor of Brian…this is a film I’ve seen several times, and it truly has something for everyone. Fun and uplifting, educationally fascinating from one of the greatest bands, but deeply moving within the heart. Dano gave an Oscar performance, Cusack nailed his later years, and honestly Banks gives her career best. It’s a crime the studio completely bailed on this movie, and gave it disgustingly little PR, otherwise it’d be a classic to all. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/12/25 Full Review Iamwhoi M I think this movie would've been better with a less recognizable actor than John Cusack playing the older Brian. I didn't buy him in this part at all. It was a distraction from the whole movie. This could've been a much better movie, with much better casting. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/25/25 Full Review Kevin P A heartbreaking and humanizing look behind the mental struggles and abusive custody battles of Brian Wilson from the beach boys expertly played by the lead cast. My only complaint is that I wish the third act could've been meatier with showing us the Wilson Brothers' involvement with the lawsuit against the conservatorship and their reuniting with Brian, as well as the revelations of his actual diagnosis onscreen rather than just an end credits note. That being said, it's a fascinating look into the genius and mental turmoil of the beach boys' lead singer. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/25 Full Review Audience Member It’s not a conventional music bio pic and thank heavens for that. The exploration of this musical geniuses creative process is more than enough to warrant this film. But terrific performances and the ability to garner empathy from the audience is what makes it special. Thank God, somebody made this film about Brian Wilson and his contributions. He has more than deserved it. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/04/24 Full Review Wayne K The Beach Boys are a band I'm always happy to hear on the radio or wherever they might be playing, but I've never followed them or discovered much about their background. I know names like Brain Wilson & Mike Love, but I don't know a lot about them. Love & Mercy focuses on 2 crucial periods in Brian's life, bouncing back and forth between them. The film allegedly sticks largely to historical fact, with even Wilson himself attesting to this. Rather than just being a trite step by step journey through Wilsons life and career, it dedicates time to his mental struggles and the pressure he faced trying to keep his band above the water while also expanding his creative input, 2 situations that were almost always mutually exclusive. As many have remarked, Paul Dano does a more affecting job playing the younger Wilson than John Cusack does playing the older version, maybe because he's given more to do and his struggle is significantly more compelling. John Cusack is portraying Wilson while he's rueful and often medicated, and there's not a lot of variety in his interactions. The best part of this segment is Paul Giamatti's performance as fraudulent psychologist Eugene Landy, who's so compelling because he's playing the part as a villain who doesn't even realise he's the villain. Bolstered by some of The Beach Boys greatest hits and intimate yet sympathetic direction from Brian Pohlad, Love & Mercy offers a window into the life of one of popular music's mostly widely recognised geniuses at 2 of his lowest points. It doesn't glorify or condemn him, it just shows us what he went through, and for that reason, it more than deserves your attention. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/28/24 Full Review Patrick D 3.75. Maybe the last strong Cusack performance? He seems stuck in the direct to streaming world now. I remember him getting flak when this first came out, but he really isn't too far off from how Wilson was in the mid-80s. Dano and Giamatti are both excellent as always. The movie itself is a bit disjointed with the nonlinear storytelling and I can't say the movie is better off from it. Also, a shoutout to the mid-90s two-part TV movie on The Beach Boys that, along with the same for The Temptations, is actually pretty good. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/25/24 Full Review Read all reviews

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