Movie Description

Love & Mercy is a 2014 American biographical drama film directed by Bill Pohlad that focuses on the Beach Boys' co-founder and leader Brian Wilson and his struggles with mental illness during the 1960s and 1980s. The film derives its title from Wilson's 1988 song of the same name, and stars Paul Dano and John Cusack as the young and middle-aged Wilson, respectively, with Elizabeth Banks as his second wife Melinda Ledbetter, and Paul Giamatti as his psychotherapist Dr. Eugene Landy.

The film alternates between Wilson's production of the album Pet Sounds (1966) and his treatment under Landy's 24-hour therapy program in the late 1980s. Wilson called the film "very factual." He had little involvement with its making, whereas Ledbetter was relied upon for the 1980s portions. The cast and crew maintained that nothing in the film was a "Hollywood" embellishment and that everything was intended to be as factual as possible. Conversely, Landy's son Evan felt that his father was unfairly portrayed. Some minor historical inaccuracies were noted by critics, a number of which relate to the minimal coverage devoted to Wilson's family and collaborators. Ledbetter said that Landy's treatment of Wilson "was even worse" than the film portrays.

Love and Mercy premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2014 and was released by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions on June 5, 2015. It grossed $28.6 million over a $10 million budget and received positive reviews from critics, with Dano's performance garnering significant praise; later, it was nominated for two Golden Globes: Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture (Paul Dano) and Best Original Song ("One Kind of Love"). A soundtrack album that includes the original score by Atticus Ross was released on August 14, 2015.