LOVE AND MERCY
Directed by Bill Pohlad
Screenplay: Oren Moverman and Michael A Lerner
Story by Brian Wilson
Starring: John Cusack; Paul Dano; Paul Giamatti; and Elizabeth Banks
In the 1960s, Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson struggles with mental illness as he attempts to craft his music. In the 1980s, he is a broken man, a shell of the brilliant man he once was while under the 24-hour watch of shady therapist Dr. Eugene Landy.
About a month ago I did a Yay Or Nay on the trailer for this film and I went with Nay because I did not care. I went in with that same attitude as I approached this film. I was pleasantly surprised by this very interesting biography on Brian Wilson.
This is not a pleasant film to watch. It covers Brian's younger days in the 60's, played by Paul Dano, and his struggles with mental and physical abusive from his dad. Later during that same time period we see his drug use and his slip into depression and leaning toward bi-polar disorder. In later years, Brian Wilson, being played by John Cusack, is a loner who is being kept on a high dose of multiple medications by a handler Dr Eugene Landy. We constantly switch back and forth between time periods, often very confusingly so, where we get involded into a very important issue in a certain time period and the film pulls us away to the other time period, and often not very smoothly. A little editing problem? Or odd decision by the director Pohlad? Who ever made the decisions it is a bit disruptive for the viewer.
Like I noted, this is not a pleasant film to watch. We see a young man who seems brilliant but cant slow his brain down, and that same middle age man being abused by a Doctor.
After you read the above you are thinking "this is not what I want to see". No...it is a really good film. I had no idea Brian Wilson had these struggles. I found the film really interesting, from how Wilson created some great songs. To how Wilson was pretty much saved by his now wife Melinda Ledbetter (with help from a housekeeper), played marvelously by Banks. It is a really interesting movie with fantastic performances. They turned me around and made me care!!
4 out of 5 stars for Love And Mercy. Well done film touching on mental illness, I thought while watching this, that I wish Michael Jackson had a Melinda Ledbetter in his life, maybe things would have turned out different for him.
From the shadows as usual thanks for your time.
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