Interesteg What makes it different from others?

Ensofter Overrated and overhyped

Sexylocher Masterful Movie

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

theresamgill It's time to kick off the summer of reviews! And what better way to do so than with Beach Boys? And so we begin with Love & Mercy, with Paul Dano and John Cusack portraying Brian Wilson in his younger and middle years respectively. I have been a fan of Dano ever since I saw his haunting acting in Prisoners, and he has worked his way up in movies such as 12 Years a Slave. And boy does he shine through here. Not only does he look and act the part, he also sounds the part. And when doing a musical biopic, sounding the part is pretty important and impressive.Now I am a casual Beach Boys fan and really didn't look into their career before this film, but there is really a story to behold. The Dano years of the 60s experiments with LSD and all the typical band stuff from that decade, and it shows the complex mindset of the spontaneous and wonderful mind of Brian Wilson. And you get plenty of good vibrations because you get to listen to a lot of great songs.Go forward a couple of decades to the slightly eccentric Cusack who buys a car from the beautiful Elizabeth Banks who switches up from her usual comedic roles to be a more serious, "good" character without too much depth (she's not the focus, but is a driving force and provides romantic connections). Gradually, as she dates the divorced Wilson, she discovers the manipulative therapist Paul Giamatti who has kept Wilson away from all of his family for a solid 2 years at least.These scenes switch back and forth, and it is a solid dynamic to keep the interest fresh for what might be off-putting to some when they hear "biopic." You will be engaged and committed, especially if you're like me and are unfamiliar with Wilson's life, but you will also see some missed potential. At just over 2 hours, not all scenes hit the mark and tiptoe through the area marked fluff. There isn't always the intensity wanted in the Cusack scenes, so the powerful moments are toned down just a bit. But, then again, hearing Paul Giamatti yell "SLUT!" over and over can't be all bad.Generally speaking, the Dano scenes are better and what I continued to look forward to in the movie. He does the best acting, and watching his methods to find the perfect melodies while his domestic life has its struggles is engrossing and worth the watch. And again, listening to the formulation of the songs is a big treat.There isn't much to boast about directing, but the incredible performance by Dano and the more suppressed and gloomy Cusack are attention-grabbing enough if for some reason Beach Boys wasn't. Ultimately, you'll come away with new appreciation and curiosity about the band that was briefly even more popular than The Beatles, and that is always a success in the mind of a filmmaker.

swjg Yay! The sound of the beach - Round, Round get around - I get around - this movie has all the good vibrations of the 60's till it swirls into Brian Wilson's personal hell............and eventual rescue and recovery.Its a biopic and the timeline is incredibly simplified and compressed compared to what Brian actually went through. The real Brian Wilson plays a cameo role singing the movie theme song in an on screen sidebar during the closing credits - the text of which are probably the most unread credits in any recent movie.Featuring a fascinating recreation of the session musicians "The Wrecking Crew" who actually created the sounds of most of the bands of the 60's and early 70's and how they worked.Not a happy go lucky "surf's up" movie but an interesting exploration of one aspect of the times.

ameivas I met Brian Wilson several times. All four stars go to Paul Dano, who tries and does well as young Brian, but no one can suspend disbelief so far as to accept John Cusack, a great actor in the right situation, as Brian anybody. It's a ridiculous stretch to begin with. Brian himself was able to sit through this film, though how, I cannot imagine. Still, Brian dances to his own imagination, so I wouldn't presume to determine his impression of it. Nothing wrong with the film's values, only that the flip-flop age approach, Dano as young Brian, Cusack as older Brian, simply doesn't work, because even a fine actor like Cusack cannot achieve any believable resemblance to Wilson or his persona - he is just the wrong choice to pull off such a huge conceit. Best turn to "Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" (1995) and let the actual man do his job. Director Bill Pohlad is no slouch, but next time, perhaps a bit more looking before taking a leap the size of this one.

SquigglyCrunch Love & Mercy follows Brian Wilson, a member of the Beach Boys band in the past, when he struggles with being in a band and develops mental illness, and in the future when poor caretakers and his illness affects his new-found love life. The plot is one that I think many people would be interested in. I myself never listened to the Beach Boys, but I know lot's of people did. With a story like this I think it would interest a lot of people. Fortunately, I like stories about mentally ill people, so this movie still caught my attention. The way the story is presented is really great, with it switching back and forth between two different time periods. It doesn't ever show too little of one time period, and both are very interesting. The characters are pretty great. John Cusack especially does a great job as Brian Wilson, but Paul Dano is equally, if not more, fantastic. Everyone else is very good in their roles, but these two in particular stood out. The characters themselves are interesting too, and they feel pretty real for the most part. My only real complaint about this movie is that it could be a little slow. Maybe that's because I watched it late at night, or maybe not. Either way, it didn't always hold my complete attention. Overall Love & Mercy is fantastic. The cast is great, the characters are great, it's presented in an interesting way and is just an interesting story in general. It suffers from being a little slow, but otherwise it's a fantastic movie. In the end I would certainly recommend this movie.