Music biographies can be tricky, yet from the very first scene in LOVE & MERCY, you can tell filmmaker Bill Pohlad has crafted something truly special. In this complex and powerful drama, we see the incredibly talented Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys at two very different times in his life. And both John Cusack and Paul Dano give superb performances. The two actors both deserve serious award consideration, and it is absolutely impressive how the film manages to shift from his early years to the Eighties when he was under the care of a questionable therapist (the fantastic Paul Giamatti).
Recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with a cast I already had a great deal of respect for. Both Cusack and Dano, as well as the lovely Elizabeth Banks – who is absolutely wonderful as Melinda Ledbetter. It is thrilling to talk about a film when the talent is as excited by it as these three are. With John and Elizabeth, we discussed playing the two real life characters as well as spending time with both Brian and Melinda. And with Paul, we talked about the music and getting the chance to step into Brian Wilson’s shoes – plus a little shout-out to friend to JoBlo.com, Jake Abel who is terrific as Mike Love. If you love music, you owe it to yourself to see LOVE & MERCY. It is an emotional and compelling film with some of the best performances so far this year.