"Love & Mercy" - Board member reviews and discussion

[drbeachboy]

The only thing that could have topped it off would have been a cut away to Al Jardine as the Star Child.

Perfect!

[Chocolate Shake Man]

2. I mentioned this before, but in that cancelled session scene, Dano walks to a wall and puts his hands up to touch it, and it mimics almost exactly how the one of the apes reacted to the monolith in 2001 (touching the monolith in pure wonder with arms raised high). The film seemed to make homages to several past films/directors. I can't wait to get the Blu-ray to really study it.

I know exactly the part from 2001 you mean (it always startles me to the core) and I can absolutely see the connection that you are pointing out.

It's worth noting that I'm Not There, by the same screenwriter, had many nods to other films - most notably Fellini's early 60s work and also Jean Luc Godard.

[Craig Boyd]

Man having seen it for the second time in Edinburgh on Thursday it just gets better. I picked up on little nuances in the performances I didn't the first time, there are a few brief moments when the thought of Cusack playing a part left my mind and I could've sworn it was Brian up on that screen. Having seen it twice now I think Dano gives more of an 'immediate' performance but Cusack's is more subtle and will take a few viewings to fully sink in and be appreciated. 

If anyone here is able to get themselves to Edinburgh on Sunday the Odeon on Lothian Road is showing L&M at 6pm as it's the last day of the International Film Festival.

[CoolWater]

Was sitting around thinking about 'The Meeting' as portrayed in the movie. Through the years I've spent probably too much idle time imaging being a fly on the wall when the band confronted Brian, Van Dyke walking out, Smile dying. The movie leans heavily toward depicting Brian as incapcitated/unabale (Rather than unwilling) at that pivotal moment of being able to defend the project, his vision, his partnership with Van Dyke, etc.

This is  the scene in the movie I feel most conflicted over. Was Brian  so out of it at that point of 1967 as to be unable to defend his masterpiece? I always imagined it was more he had tried, over and over, and finally faced with pressure from the label, and criticism and hostility from Mike, he was unwilling to defend it or perhaps was brow beaten to the point he didn't want to fight anymore, and caved, lacking the strong support from his brothers he needed. Or did he simply close him self off and refuse to deal with it at all, at that life defining moment, perhaps as a result of the onset of his mental illness and illicit drug use?

I'm interested to hear others take on this pivoltol moment in BB history and the scene in the movie, and hear how it compares with other sources,  other opinions.  

[puni puni]

There is an outtake where Brian says to Hal he can't make any more "weird music" because he's a father now.

[sea of tunes]

http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/interviews/bill-pohlad-love-mercy?utm_content=buffer06a7e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Someone in the other thread mentioned a very positive review in Sight & Sound, this isn't the film review but a web exclusive interview with Bill Pohlad.  Also some other on-set photos I haven't seen anywhere else. 

[37!ws]

2. I mentioned this before, but in that cancelled session scene, Dano walks to a wall and puts his hands up to touch it, and it mimics almost exactly how the one of the apes reacted to the monolith in 2001 (touching the monolith in pure wonder with arms raised high). The film seemed to make homages to several past films/directors. I can't wait to get the Blu-ray to really study it.

Dude...don't even go there! I know very well that once the Blu-ray/DVD comes out, I'll never be able to watch that thing from start to finish again because the Mrs. will be constantly pausing it, reversing it, etc., to examine stuff that we didn't catch the (so far) three times we saw it in the theater...

[rab2591]

2. I mentioned this before, but in that cancelled session scene, Dano walks to a wall and puts his hands up to touch it, and it mimics almost exactly how the one of the apes reacted to the monolith in 2001 (touching the monolith in pure wonder with arms raised high). The film seemed to make homages to several past films/directors. I can't wait to get the Blu-ray to really study it.

Dude...don't even go there! I know very well that once the Blu-ray/DVD comes out, I'll never be able to watch that thing from start to finish again because the Mrs. will be constantly pausing it, reversing it, etc., to examine stuff that we didn't catch the (so far) three times we saw it in the theater...

But we're crazed fans, it's in our blood to do this stuff!

[puni puni]

Here's a strange name I remember seeing in the credits: Jonathan Paley (brother to Andy). Was he actually involved with the movie? IMDB says yes. A "Derek Taylor" is also credited as "production assistant".

[sea of tunes]

In the EPK he's listed as a Stunt Performer.

[guitarfool2002]

Was sitting around thinking about 'The Meeting' as portrayed in the movie. Through the years I've spent probably too much idle time imaging being a fly on the wall when the band confronted Brian, Van Dyke walking out, Smile dying. The movie leans heavily toward depicting Brian as incapcitated/unabale (Rather than unwilling) at that pivotal moment of being able to defend the project, his vision, his partnership with Van Dyke, etc.

This is  the scene in the movie I feel most conflicted over. Was Brian  so out of it at that point of 1967 as to be unable to defend his masterpiece? I always imagined it was more he had tried, over and over, and finally faced with pressure from the label, and criticism and hostility from Mike, he was unwilling to defend it or perhaps was brow beaten to the point he didn't want to fight anymore, and caved, lacking the strong support from his brothers he needed. Or did he simply close him self off and refuse to deal with it at all, at that life defining moment, perhaps as a result of the onset of his mental illness and illicit drug use?

I'm interested to hear others take on this pivoltol moment in BB history and the scene in the movie, and hear how it compares with other sources,  other opinions.  

Consider that they had to compress events that played out over several months and with more people involved into one scene to both symbolize and summarize that chapter of the story. There was so much symbolism in that one scene, both in the visuals and the dialogue, this will be one to rewind on DVD for sure. But consider that the swimming pool (or pools) play a heavy symbolic role throughout the entire film. And note too how carefully staged and shot that scene was as to be able to draw a conclusion about the mindsets of the people surrounding Brian simply by showing who was and wasn't in that pool, and where they were positioned in and out of the pool. If you took a snapshot of it, those with a working knowledge of the Smile history would be able to see the symbolism right away, and those who don't know quite as much of the story could draw conclusions from the visual alone.

That's solid filmmaking, I'd say, to be able to sum up for the storyline what could be perhaps the biggest mystery of the band's history, and to have it tie into the storyline. They couldn't have done too much beyond that because it wasn't a film focused squarely on the ins and outs of Smile, and if anything the film focuses more on Pet Sounds' creation and inner workings than Smile. If they cut it to allow perhaps 15 more minutes of content, then maybe more detail and more specifics could have been described.

Just watch the pool scenes after the meeting scene, and specifically listen to the collage of music that accompanies them on the soundtrack. The visuals combined with the audio are as emotional as anything in the film, especially for Smile fans, but it took multiple viewings for me to catch all of the amazing audio. Not a single edit of music is wasted, and it combines to help tell the story of the post-Smile period conceptually almost as poignantly as reading the histories which have been written.

And listen close to what Marilyn is saying to Brian from the house as he sits on the edge of what looks like a pool which has been left neglected and untouched and looks anything but clean enough to jump in. It's the brilliance of showing life's joy from one perspective and utter heartbreak and loss from another, and it's a crushing moment. Watch and listen to that scene closely. It's again near the end of the 60's scenes in the storyline.

[debonbon]

Not sure if this has been discussed yet and it's a smallish thing but did anyone else find it odd that neither John nor Paul talked out one side of their mouths in their performances? Watch any Brian interview and you see it (this is nothing new to anyone on here obviously), it's not a subtle thing and I find it perplexing that neither actor did it, especially Cusack who is very much an actor's actor.

My only real disappointment with the film was how quickly Smile is dealt with and the non inclusion of the building fire after the Mrs o'Leary's Cow session. To me that track and the paranoia surrounding it is a pivotal point in Brian's breakdown.

[puni puni]

Again, the fire episode is touched upon in a (poorly written) outtake.

In the EPK he's listed as a Stunt Performer.

Yeah, but is it really that Jonathan Paley? Mark Linett and Darian Sahanaja's involvement are not too surprising, but Andy Paley's brother seems out of nowhere, and for a strange credit too.

[KDS]

Not sure if this has been discussed yet and it's a smallish thing but did anyone else find it odd that neither John nor Paul talked out one side of their mouths in their performances? Watch any Brian interview and you see it (this is nothing new to anyone on here obviously), it's not a subtle thing and I find it perplexing that neither actor did it, especially Cusack who is very much an actor's actor.

My only real disappointment with the film was how quickly Smile is dealt with and the non inclusion of the building fire after the Mrs o'Leary's Cow session. To me that track and the paranoia surrounding it is a pivotal point in Brian's breakdown.

I thought I noticed Cusack doing it a couple times. 

The symbolism of pools/water has been discussed.  I might be late on this observation, but when Melinda first meets Brian in the car dealership, Brian mentions how the color blue is soothing. 

Maybe that's why I just bought a blue car. 

[debonbon]

Not sure if this has been discussed yet and it's a smallish thing but did anyone else find it odd that neither John nor Paul talked out one side of their mouths in their performances? Watch any Brian interview and you see it (this is nothing new to anyone on here obviously), it's not a subtle thing and I find it perplexing that neither actor did it, especially Cusack who is very much an actor's actor.

My only real disappointment with the film was how quickly Smile is dealt with and the non inclusion of the building fire after the Mrs o'Leary's Cow session. To me that track and the paranoia surrounding it is a pivotal point in Brian's breakdown.

I thought I noticed Cusack doing it a couple times. 

He did the facial tics and pauses well but never really did the side of mouth thing, Paul didn't do it at all.

[Paul J B]

And listen close to what Marilyn is saying to Brian from the house as he sits on the edge of what looks like a pool which has been left neglected and untouched and looks anything but clean enough to jump in. It's the brilliance of showing life's joy from one perspective and utter heartbreak and loss from another, and it's a crushing moment. Watch and listen to that scene closely. It's again near the end of the 60's scenes in the storyline.

This right here is why I spent too much time reading this board! Guitarfool you need to write your own book or something. I saw the film twice and know the scene well, knew Marilyn said the 'S' word but never made the connection to the album even though I got most of the symbolism.....unreal. There are so many subtle things like that going on in this film that you really do need to see it several times before it sinks in.

Another great scene that has not had much discussion is Melinda not saying one word when Landy is outside her office having a fit. The range of emotion from Banks through that scene is top notch acting. She did not say one word and you knew exactly what she was feeling. What Landy did he did to himself and he knew it, and that scene nailed it.

[sea of tunes]

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[sea of tunes]

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[sea of tunes]

My full written review, on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R3UC4LQDH0Q13N/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B01127XNHQ

[Misterlou]

My full written review, on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R3UC4LQDH0Q13N/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B01127XNHQ

Well written review of an amazing film. Good work!

[Misterlou]

http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/interviews/bill-pohlad-love-mercy?utm_content=buffer06a7e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Someone in the other thread mentioned a very positive review in Sight & Sound, this isn't the film review but a web exclusive interview with Bill Pohlad.  Also some other on-set photos I haven't seen anywhere else.  

I want that Mustang. Did Brian drive a Shelby Mustang back then? In the Smile box set book, there is a photo of a Corvette and a Mustang in his garage, but it definitely wasn't a Shelby, whereas the Mustang in this photo has Shelby striping on the side (I'm a Mustang guy).

[DonnyL]

Snapped this in downtown Olympia, WA the other day:

[undercover-m]

That's a beautiful theatre! Did you see the movie there, too?

[sea of tunes]

I want that Mustang. Did Brian drive a Shelby Mustang back then? In the Smile box set book, there is a photo of a Corvette and a Mustang in his garage, but it definitely wasn't a Shelby, whereas the Mustang in this photo has Shelby striping on the side (I'm a Mustang guy).

It sure is a beautiful car.  I too am kind of a Mustang guy.  I don't recall this exterior shot in the movie.  Nor do I recall Paul Dano in that exact wardrobe.  Maybe another deleted scene or flashback?

[Andrew G. Doe]

A "Derek Taylor" is also credited as "production assistant".

Doubt it's the Derek Taylor: he died nearly 18 years ago.