Roadside AttractionsLove And Mercy delivers a triple whammy of excellent performance, examining the life of The Beach Boys' front man and composer Brian Wilson during two key moments of his life, the creation of the seminal album Pet Sounds and his recovery from a psychological meltdown. Paul Dano plays Wilson during the composition and recording of Pet Sounds, his experimentation with psychedelic drugs and subsequent auditory hallucinations captured in the sound design. John Cusack takes over the role when the film jumps forwards to the 1980s, and here Wilson has become a withdrawn man attempting to re-emerge in the world. Paul Giamatti delivers another scene-stealing turn as Wilson's crooked psychiatrist, but overall it is Bill Pohlad's confident direction and looseness with chronology make this one of the best biopics of all time.
