Love and Mercy: Biopic Review

Love and Mercy is a rare, special, and absolutely beautiful biopic that makes you feel sad, hopeful, and musically inspired all at once. I can't say I have ever been a huge fan of the Beach Boys', but I have always loved some of their songs like as "God Only Knows" and "Good Vibrations." I was curious to see what this film about the musically gifted Brian Wilson was all about. I'm glad I gave it a chance.

It totally suprised me that there was such a complicated backstory behind this group, especially Brian Wilson's shocking and heartbreaking life of childhood abuse, his complex musical genius, his drug use, and his scary relationship with his psychiatrist—as well as his inspiring relationship with his wife Melinda who helped him return to a better life.

I don't want to get into too many details and ruin the movie for viewers, because it's the type of movie that you really need to experience and ponder on your own without having too much outside influence. I will say that, as a music lover, I totally loved the scenes involving Wilson's creation of the album Pet Sounds and surrounding events. It's so inspiring to see old-school studio recording processes. Wilson's style is a perfect example. This was my absolute favorite part of the film, along with the real Beach Boys recordings included throughout.

This is a quite short post/review, but it is definitely on purpose. If you love music (especially from the 1960's) and if you love human interest biopics, this film is for you.

-Sarah James, Junior Contributor