Love & Mercy

2015   Lionsgate

Rated:  PG-13

Length:  2 hr

Biography ~ Drama ~ Music ~ Romance ~ True Story

Directed by:  Bill Pohlad

Starring:  Paul Dano, John Cusack, Elizabeth Banks,  Melinda Ledbetter and Paul Giamatti.

The Life, Love and Genius of Brian Wilson.

SYNOPSIS(From the Official Website):

Love & Mercy presents an unconventional portrait of Brian Wilson, the mercurial singer, songwriter and leader of The Beach Boys. Set against the era-defining catalog of Wilson’s music, the film intimately examines the personal voyage and ultimate salvation of the icon whose success came at extraordinary personal cost.

INTERESTING FACTS:

• Brian Wilson thought the movie was very factual and that each character was cast so well that he “actually believed those characters were really who they were, like Paul Giamatti as Doctor Landry was so right on that it actually scared me.“
• Paul Giamatti extensively researched Doctor Landy for his role:

“I played Dr. Landy, the crazy psychotherapist. It’s a great character. Brian Wilson had a severe freak-out and his family got in touch with a psychotherapist out in L.A. named Eugene Landy who took over. That’s where most of the story comes from, because the doctor was basically insane. He made Brian play in a sandbox, I mean crazy stuff.” Giamatti prepared for the role by engrossing himself in contemporary articles, meeting the real life Landy’s early career acquaintances, and listening to hours of tapes wherein Giamatti says “he’d just keep talking and talking, in these completely huge paragraphs. They were brilliant-sounding, but if you dug into them they didn’t make much sense.

• John Cusack spent time with Brian and Melinda in their home in Beverly Hills, and dived into The Beach boy’s catalogue of music in prepping for his role. From The LA Times Article by Randy Lewis – April 4, 2015:

Cusack’s performance as latter-day Wilson has been drawing praise from those closest to the musician, not only for the way he’s picked up on Wilson’s tics and speech patterns but for the underlying sweetness of his personality. His portrayal of Brian has drawn praise from Melinda who said of Cusack’s performance: “He’s amazing,” said Melinda Wilson. “I don’t know how he did it — he just morphed himself into Brian.”

• Paul Dano completely immersed himself into Brian’s life, career and music learning as much as he could. He learned to play the piano and learned to sing Brian’s Beach Boy parts for the film. His voice was mixed with Brian’s in scenes of the movie. Paul gained 35 pounds by consuming 4200 calories a day to portray Brian at the time he had gained so much weight.

MY THOUGHTS:

I have seen this movie countless times and watched it again last night. It is one of my favorite movies. I added the ROMANCE category because I feel like it is a great Romance and Love story between Brian Wilson and Melinda Ledbetter. I think that is one of my favorite parts of the movie, how they met and fell in love amidst the chaos of Brian’s relationship and treatment with Dr. Landy. I love the scene in the dealership when they first met, in the Cadillac and Brian locks the doors and leaves her a note. I just love that. I really like Elizabeth Banks as Melinda Ledbetter, I am a huge fan of hers but there is something special about her portrayal of Melinda in this movie.

John Cusack and Paul Dano were both excellent as the differently aged Brian’s. I love both of their performances in this. The studio musicians portrayed in the movie were actual musicians hired to play the parts in the studio scenes. I thought they did a great job of portraying The Wrecking Crew. They were the actual group of studio musicians that Brian, The Beach Boys and so many artists of the 60’s and 70’s used on their recordings. The Wrecking Crew is a great Documentary about them currently streaming on Amazon. I love how they recreated the studio scenes down to the instruments and the equipment.

I grew up on The Beach Boys’ music and am a fan but watching this movie always gives me a deeper respect for their music and lives. Seeing Brian Wilson’s genius behind the scenes of the band is an incredible insight. I am always amazed and horrified by their relationship with their father. The audacity of Brian’s father informing him that “he sold the rights to ALL THEIR MUSIC for $750,000 because in five years time it wasn’t going to be worth anything.” is mind blowing and numbing at the same time. How is it that a father has nothing but disdain and animosity instead of unconditional love for his children? Watching the scenes between Brian and his Father is heartbreaking to say the least.

If you haven’t seen it you should watch it, If you have seen it….watch it again. It is worth it, it is a great story, a true story, a love story and a very insightful look into one of the most influential bands, Musician(s) and songwriters of modern American Music.

STREAMING ON AMAZON PRIME