Oh, "Love and Mercy" certainly holds your interest and is well-acted. But, the subject matter here is ten times more grim than the gambling and money woes of the Four Seasons. We're talking here about leader Brian Wilson's manic schizophrenia and that's never a toe tapper in anybody's book. As a result, this film by director Bill Pohlad is immediately mired in a sadness from which it never really recovers.
This movie actually employs two different actors to play the beleaguered Brian Wilson at two different points in his life. John Cusack plays the 90s version who is being treated by a psychopath of a shrink played menacingly by Paul Giamatti. This Brian Wilson is almost comatose but he still has enough of his mental faculties to begin a relationship with a Cadillac salesperson played by Elizabeth Banks.
Intertwined are many flashbacks of the younger Brian Wilson played most by Paul Dano in a complete stupor and stare. This is the Brian Wilson that was starting to hear the many voices in his head as provoked by an overbearing and abusive father/manager. We meet all the other Beach Boys but they are purely secondary characters. Indeed, the Beach Boys are already big hits when the film opens. And, conveniently, they are shipped off to an Asian tour, leaving Brian to deal with the onset of his mental illness. As a result, we get lots of little snippets of Beach Boys music but not enough to register with true fans.
Instead, we get Brian grappling with his "new sound," which is just white noise. There is one marvelous set piece where Brian overdirects a recording session with the famed "Wrecking Crew" that was spotlighted in that marvelous documentary of several months ago. It was fascinating to see the likes of Hal Blaine and Carol Kaye played by actors on the big screen because I just met the real people on screen a little while ago.
And, frankly, the key word above is "overdirect." Because the film's director Pohlad does just that. Every time the voices in Wilson's head emerge, we are treated to some cacophony of noise and screen images that look like an LSD trip. Suddenly, you think you're watching "Easy Rider" with Peter Fonda. Less could have been more here and an already depressing tale is made even more unlikable.
At the screening I attended, I actually think there were people who thought they were going to be treated to a Beach Boys version of "Jersey Boys." I could sense lots of disappointment on the way out. I heard one patron say, "I had no idea Brian Wilson was such a nut."
Well, I myself did know the back story and, heck, I saw the real Brian perform a few years back at the Dodgers' Opening Day. He clearly could function as a musician but you could see that he still wasn't "right." How some members of my movie audience didn't know this is beyond me.
You got the story all right as ugly as it sounds. And, from the closing catch-up credits, you can see that the filmmakers did their homework. It's just not a happy movie. And you should understand that going in.
But, at least, nobody at my screen thought they were coming to see the screen biography of the Giant/Dodger reliever Brian Wilson.
LEN'S RATING: Two-and-a-half stars.
Dinner last night: Chicken fried steak and salad.
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