LOVE AND MERCY
directed by Bill Pohlad
USA, 2014, English, 120 minutes
In the 1960s, young songwriter and recording savant Brian Wilson (Paul Dano) finds himself in the midst of extraordinary success as part of the Beach Boys. Intent on removing the group's associations with surf music, he resigns from concert touring and ventures into the studio to create the greatest album ever: Pet Sounds. Meanwhile, his grip on reality slowly loosens as the aftermath of recent psychedelic experiences surfaces as scattered voices in his head. Fast forward to the 1980s, where a middle-aged Wilson (John Cusack), now broken and confused, meets Melinda Ledbetter (Elizabeth Banks)—a Cadillac saleswoman determined to free Wilson from therapist Dr. Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti) and his manipulation. “Love and Mercy” presents an unconventional portrait of the personal voyage and ultimate salvation of the icon whose success came at extraordinary personal cost. —Lucy Doughty