Love & Mercy

One of the most unconventional biopics in recent memory, Bill Pohlad's "Love & Mercy" is a strange and mesmerizing peek into the creative process as well as a cautionary tale of what can happen to genius when it isn't nurtured.

The story of The Beach Boys wunderkind Brian Wilson could have easily played out as a melodramatic mess, but screenwriters Oren Moverman ("I'm Not There") and Michael Alan Lerner craft a bracing narrative that attempts to explore the mind of a tortured artist. The result is a dizzyingly hypnotic piece that beguiles and fascinates.

Expertly ping-ponging back and forth from the mid-60s to the mid-80s, "Love & Mercy" intimately examines Wilson's life, passion and ambitions. Two very menacing and abusive patriarchal figures loom large in that life in both decades and contribute to his artistry as well as his mental breakdown.

Pohlad shows great promise as a filmmaker. He has an inventive visual style, which is even more stunning on the Blu-ray transfer.

The decision to have Wilson played by two different actors is a stroke of brilliance. Paul Dano fully immerses himself into young completely craft-consumed Brian while John Cusack (in need of a decent part of late) is just as effective and affecting as the damaged man-boy Brian.

Paul Giamatti is perfectly skeevy as his initially helpful therapist who is taken over by greed and power and, in turn, nearly destroys Wilson's mind and spirit. And Elizabeth Banks, who is appealing in everything she does, breaks out here with a quiet but powerful performance as the woman who saves the tormented artist.

And then there's the music. I've never thought of myself as much of a Beach Boys fan, but hearing their work on the soundtrack, and watching their songs being composed in so many revealing scenes, proved to me that the canon is a treasure trove of extraordinary material. The Blu-ray audio is fantastic.

Wilson's full immersion into his art is depicted in a way I've never seen done onscreen before. The only other thing that matters is love, which he finds in his later years while battling to hold onto his sanity.

The Bonus materials are terrific. There are two featurettes on the making of the film that boast interviews with all of the principle creatives. In addition, a handful of deleted scenes shed more light on the younger Brian. Finally, there's Audio Commentary with Pohlad and Moverman that's quite informative.

"Love & Mercy"
Blu-ray & Digital HD
$12.95
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