Below is the first trailer for LOVE & MERCY, the biopic of The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson starring both Paul Dano and John Cusack as the musician at two key points in his life. We mostly see Dano’s younger incarnation of Wilson, gallavanting with The Beach Boys at the height of their success before his mental degradation began to take a serious toll on the frontman. We only see a little of John Cusack as the 40-ish Wilson, as he receives therapy from Paul Giamatti’s Dr. Eugene Landy and romances future wife Melinda (Elizabeth Banks).
This film has the approval of both Brian and Melinda Wilson, and it’s a huge advantage to actually have rights to use the legendary Beach Boys tunes. I like the look of the group’s ‘60s heyday, but Copernicus’ positive review out of TIFF claims that the heart of the movie is in the Cusack-led ‘80s section, and that’s the bit that fascinates me most, maybe just ‘cause I’m a sucker for Cusack (DTV output be damned!). It all looks great, and the cast is so strong that I’d probably check this movie out even if it wasn’t tackling one of the more interesting and infamous stories regarding 20th century pop music.
What you Brian Wilson fans think? Getting Good Vibrations, or “Wouldn’t It Be Nice if this looked better”?
LOVE & MERCY to you and your friends on June 5th.
