Love & Mercy (2015)

*** out of ****

Has there ever been an actor quite like John Cusack? He's been in iconic films as a teen (“16 Candles”, “The Sure Thing”, “Stand By Me”) and blockbuster movies (“Con Air”, “2012”), but for the most part has a had a quiet career making some of my favorite low-budget indie-type films (“High Fidelity”, “Being John Malkovich”, “Identity”, “Grosse Point Blank”). He even made one of the scariest horror movies of recent years ("1408"). And he's been wonderful in just about everything, and has been consistently recognized by critics (if not necessarily by movie audiences) as an incredible talent.

So imagine my surprise when, even though he gives a terrific performance in “Love & Mercy”, he is outshone by young Paul Dano. Both play Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Dano in the 1960s and Cusack in the 1980s. Dano is truly fantastic as Wilson, as the pressures of being a star coupled with increasing drug use make him gradually lose touch with reality. Watching him act out Wilson' creative process during the “Pet Sounds” through the “Smile” eras is fascinating, doing things in the studio that nobody had ever done before. His part of the story gets a bit uncomfortable as you see him losing his mind, but only because he has made you care about the character so much.

Told in sequence with the earlier Wilson story is Cusack's part of the movie, with Wilson in the 1980s. He seems to have recovered, but appears at all times to be subdued and very paranoid. He beings a relationship with a Cadillac salesperson (Elizabeth Banks) who finds that Brian is hopelessly addicted to prescription drugs and completely under the control of his doctor, Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti). She falls in love with Brian and is devoted to rescuing him from the clearly vampiric doctor, but Landy won't easily let go of his cash cow. His control over Wilson is so complete that he and Banks end up engaged in a battle for Brian's very life. It's absolutely fascinating to watch.

The actual Brian Wilson has gone on record as saying that Giamattis' portrayal of Landy was so accurate that it nearly made him physically ill to watch it. And while his performance is great, and Cusack and Banks are also terrific, the real wonderkind in this movie is Paul Dano as the young Wilson. He is just absolutely authentic in every scene.

It doesn't hurt that the music in the movie is fabulous as well....

As a fan of Wilson and the Beach Boys, I knew the general outline of most of this story, but with these actors it really came to life. It was much darker and more uncomfortable than I expected, but sometimes it's good to have your expectations completely shaken. A really good movie filled with really good performances. Admittedly less interesting to anyone who is not a fan of Brian Wilson, but overall just a really terrific film. Highly recommended.