February 25th, 2015 
James Shotwell 
The life of music icon Brian Wilson is much more than the creation of Pet Sounds, and soon a new film will attempt to tell his story.
Love & Mercy originally premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in the fall of 2014. The film stars both Paul Dano and John Cusack as Brian Wilson, with each portraying the musician at different stages in his life. Dano is the young, hit-making Wilson who led the Beach Boys to the top of the charts, while Cusack is the older and far more troubled man Wilson later became. The film hops between these two points in Wilson’s life to construct what looks to be a beautiful portrait of an often misunderstand genius, but we’ll have to wait until June to see if they pull it off. You can view the film’s first trailer below:
It seems that neither Dano nor Cusack contribute their own vocals to the singing portion of the film, but I think in this case that is probably for the best. It’s likely that neither sound anything like Wilson, let alone like one another, so keeping the original master recordings in tact is a far simpler route to take.
The focus in the media will likely be on the two male leads, but this trailer showcases an equally strong supporting cast, including the ever-wonderful Elizabeth Banks. Paul Giamatti’s voice can be heard in the trailer as well, likely playing the role of Wilson’s doctor, but he isn’t shown in any of the sequences teased.
Love & Mercy is set for release on June 5, but if there is a major film festival coming to your area between now and then it may make an appearance there as well. Check with your local indie cinema nuts and support this feature as soon as you are able.
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