I N T E R N A T I O N A L FOR THE LATEST REVIEWS WWW.FILMJOURNAL.COM BUYING & BOOKING GUIDE VOL. 118, NO. 6 LOVE & MERCY remarkable creativity and the psychological though Cusack bears little physical resem- problems—hallucinations, imagined voices, a blance to his character. Nor are the problems ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS/Color/1.85/Dolby need to withdraw—that went along with it. bedeviling the chief Beach Boy obscured, Digital & Datasat Digital/120 Mins./Rated PG-13 The band was best known for its signa- whether it’s Brian being haunted by inner Cast: John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks, Paul ture harmonies, Brian Wilson creations in- voices or freaking out on a plane or at the Giamatti, Brett Davern, Kenny Wormald, Jake Abel, spired by his love of pre-rock groups like The dinner table or needing to pull out of touring Graham Rogers, Bill Camp, Max Schneider. Four Freshman. But after the California-style to go manic in studio sessions with the sea- Directed by Bill Pohlad. Screenplay: Oren Moverman, Michael Alan Lerner. beach and surf hits, he needed to break new soned musicians he hires as he stretches the Produced by Bill Pohlad, Claire Redneck Polstein, John ground and met resistance on several fronts. pop genre in exciting new directions. Wells. His father Murray Wilson (Bill Camp) had The intensity, genius, creative forces and Executive producers: Ann Ruark, Jim Lefkowitz, Oren been a problem in his life early on. A musician mental pain of Brian Wilson are all there and Moverman. Director of photography: Robert Yeoman. himself, he competed with his son, often borne by both actors. And finally, here’s a Production designer: Keith Cunningham. denigrating him and seeking to extinguish any rock ’n’ roll film in which sex, drugs and hun- Editor: Dino Jonsäter. confidence Brian managed to maintain. ger for fame take a back seat and, appropriate Music: Atticus Ross. And the band, Mike Love especially, to Wilson, the mystery of creativity and ob- Sound design: Eugene Gearty. Costume designer: Danny Glicker. were losing patience with him. As Brian grew session for the music itself powers the story. A Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions and River Road Enter- more restless with the band’s old sounds And for a bit of old-fashioned sizzle, there’s tainment presentation of a River Road Entertainment and sought new directions, he drifted from Brian’s wonderful romance with Melinda and and Battle Mountain Films production. the others and found himself isolated and her battle to wrest control of him from the obsessed in his tasks of creating new sounds. villainous Dr. Landy. —Doris Toumarkine Unconventional but fully fleshed-out and But his growing demons, beginning to crest in adoring (but not too adoring) portrait of bril- 1966 along with his creativity and obsession liant Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson and his with cutting-edge arrangements, brought The I’LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS personal ups and downs. Beach Boys historic breakthroughs like the Pet Sounds album and singles like “Wouldn’t BLEECKER STREET FILMS/Color/1.85/Dolby Digital/95 Mins./Rated PG-13 This music-driven It Be Nice” and “Good Vibrations,” among biopic, blessed with many others. Cast: Blythe Danner, Martin Starr, Malin Akerman, Sam two excellent per- As Wilson aged into the decades to Elliott, June Squibb, Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place. formances from Paul follow, his mental health and hold on reality Directed and edited by Brett Haley. Screenplay: Brett Haley, Marc Basch. Dano as the younger diminished. The faux-cool con man and über- Produced by Rebecca Green, Laura D. Smith, Brett Haley. Brian Wilson and John schmoozer Dr. Landy—consumed by his need Director of photography: Rob C. Givens. Cusack in the older PAUL DANO for control—stepped in to fill a void and pro- Production designer: Eric James Archer. role, gives us the rock vide a lot of sedatives. When he couldn’t be Music: Keegan DeWitt. Costume designer: Mirren Gordon-Crozier. legend as a driven, uncannily gifted original. close by to watch Brian, he had bodyguards A Two Flints production, in association with Jeff Rice Love & Mercy demands our attention every and caregivers hovering every moment. Films, Northern Lights Films and Part2 Filmworks. step as it covers the remarkable working and A key moment was when the older Brian romantic life of Wilson, who struggles with slipped into a Cadillac showroom and met Based on the premise that growing old is mental challenges and a formidable live tor- car salesperson Melinda Ledbetter (a terrific both bitter and sweet, as in every other stage mentor by way of his abusive doctor, Eugene Elizabeth Banks), a former model. Brian got of life, this perfectly pitched romantic tale Landy (Paul Giamatti). the car and eventually the “girl,” but that’s extols the virtues of trying new things—even Classy work from the filmmakers, Love & jumping way ahead. On this initial encounter, when the odds are against it. Mercy is also a sparkling slice of rock ’n’ roll Brian’s wasn’t a known face and he had al- history and further rewards with the twists and ready become a recluse, so she was unaware I’ll See You in My turns every great story carries. Beach Boys fans, of the man she was flirting with. They grew Dreams is that rare certainly, and all those who value high-quality closer, had an occasional date, and love was slice-of-life movie that filmmaking—whether art-house habitués or the blooming until Landy tried to put a stop to doesn’t strike a false easier-to-please—should get in line. it all. note anywhere. Which Producer/director Bill Pohlad, work- The film moves continually yet flu- is quite astonishing, ing from Oren Moverman and Michael Alan idly back and forth from the ’60s and Dano considering that the BLYTHE DANNER Lerner’s script, triumphs but takes no easy through the ’90s with Cusack as the more film’s central story, route in tackling so daunting a subject. Little troubled talent. The upshot is that Love & about a widow in her 70s, was actually con- time is spent on the easy part—the band’s rise Mercy, mercifully lensed in California though ceived and written by a couple of hip young to fame when Brian was only in his early 20s, cheaper locations tempted and generously guys in their 30s. working with younger brothers Carl (Brett packed with Beach Boys hits, is satisfying and The second astonishing thing about this Davern) and Dennis (Kenny Wormald), cousin coherent wherever it lands in time. film—although some might put it first—is Mike Love (Jake Abel) and their friend Al What sets the film soaring from a neat Blythe Danner’s performance as Carol, a Jardine (Graham Rogers). Instead and as befits “Jersey Boys”-style arc of triumph and 71-year-old California widow. Danner is a so talented a musician, the focus is on Brian’s setbacks are those dual interpretations, even natural for the part, of course, as she really JUNE 2015 WWW.FILMJOURNAL.COM 61 061-072.indd 61 5/11/15 5:10 PM.