Love and Mercy - News and Reviews - First clip is out.

[drbeachboy]

Rotten Tomatoes has the critic score up to 88% favorable and the audience score up to 98% favorable. This is huge.

This is fantastic! The creators of this film could not have asked for more. I may not think the film is great myself (though I doubt it) but the bottom line is that the vast majority of critics, and more importantly, the audience themselves seem to really like it.

Great for the entire film crew and especially great for Brian!

When you tell the story truthfully and put everything behind it, usually it can't be anything but good. Unlike the crap we were given for the two Beach Boys mini-series.

[Larry Franz]

 Well, I just watched a half hour of The View for the first time (for those who don't know, a long-running American talk show geared toward women). Now I have to go kill a small animal just to even things out. (joking, joking)

The best part of the Brian and Melinda segment was that they kept playing Brian's songs. So the whole place got quiet while quite a bit of "In My Room" played. They finished with "Love and Mercy". Whoopi Goldberg said she went to sleep last night listening to that. She seemed to be displaying honest emotion having Brian and Melinda there, saying it was one of the best moments she'll ever have on that program. She even got choked up when plugging Brian's tour, album and movie at the end, to the point where another host took over. (I know it's show business, but it looked real.)

It was a great idea for them to insert the musical interludes, letting the music speak for Brian. They had a long closeup of Brian looking directly into the camera during "In My Room". It was a great moment.

(And now I'm going to this new movie we've heard about. Not bad at all.)

[Komera]

I live in a micropolitan* area.  There are only two theaters in the immediate area, and thus they coordinate the movies between them.  Neither are showing Love & Mercy.  Nor are the theaters in any of the nearby (small) cities.  However,  the theater in a town 60 miles away is showing it.  Not that I have the funds to get either gas or tickets, but it's very comforting to know that I wouldn't have to drive 200 miles just to see it.

* Chrome wants me to change that to metropolitan.  No, Google.  This area is no where close to that big.

[WonderfulLittlePad]

Well, I just watched a half hour of The View for the first time (for those who don't know, a long-running American talk show geared toward women). Now I have to go kill a small animal just to even things out. (joking, joking)

The best part of the Brian and Melinda segment was that they kept playing Brian's songs. So the whole place got quiet while quite a bit of "In My Room" played. They finished with "Love and Mercy". Whoopi Goldberg said she went to sleep last night listening to that. She seemed to be displaying honest emotion having Brian and Melinda there, saying it was one of the best moments she'll ever have on that program. She even got choked up when plugging Brian's tour, album and movie at the end, to the point where another host took over. (I know it's show business, but it looked real.)

It was a great idea for them to insert the musical interludes, letting the music speak for Brian. They had a long closeup of Brian looking directly into the camera during "In My Room". It was a great moment.

(And now I'm going to this new movie we've heard about. Not bad at all.)

I hope that clip pops up on the net.

[GoodVibrations33]

Well, I just watched a half hour of The View for the first time (for those who don't know, a long-running American talk show geared toward women). Now I have to go kill a small animal just to even things out. (joking, joking)

The best part of the Brian and Melinda segment was that they kept playing Brian's songs. So the whole place got quiet while quite a bit of "In My Room" played. They finished with "Love and Mercy". Whoopi Goldberg said she went to sleep last night listening to that. She seemed to be displaying honest emotion having Brian and Melinda there, saying it was one of the best moments she'll ever have on that program. She even got choked up when plugging Brian's tour, album and movie at the end, to the point where another host took over. (I know it's show business, but it looked real.)

It was a great idea for them to insert the musical interludes, letting the music speak for Brian. They had a long closeup of Brian looking directly into the camera during "In My Room". It was a great moment.

(And now I'm going to this new movie we've heard about. Not bad at all.)

I hope that clip pops up on the net.

It'll probably be posted here sometime soon:  http://abc.go.com/shows/the-view/episode-guide

[sea of tunes]

I've now seen the film twice (today) and wrote this in between the showings. Apologies for the lean details, these were just my thoughts and impressions.

This is my review.

------

Bob Dylan on Brian Wilson: "That ear! Jesus, he's got to will that to the Smithsonian."

That ear. That one ear. From it sprang the most inspirational and aspirational popular music of the last 50 years.

Bill Pohlad's LOVE & MERCY is a loving tone poem to Brian Wilson. Breaking free of the conventional shackles that hamstring most biopics about popular artists, LOVE & MERCY lives and breathes. We see not only his creative process but we are taken on a trip through the cerebral hemispheres.

This trip is an occasionally bumpy ride that gives the viewer the most intimately drawn picture that we will likely ever see about a major artist. The film is daring and takes many chances, not the least of which; the dual casting. Both leads are splendid, each of their personal portraits of the man at dramatically different times in his life.

The biggest success, apart from the performances of the two leads is the editing choices. Both 1960s Brian and 1980s Brian are juxtaposed and woven together in an intense way, the only way they could be. The 2001 'homage' to Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite is one of the most inspired things I've seen in quite some time.

LOVE & MERCY is masterful and magical.

------

[jeffh]

This weeks "Entertainment Weekly " magazine give the movie a C-. First half good, the Cusak half bad they say. June 12 issue.

[Amy B.]

Totally neglecting my work to watch TV today. I just saw Elizabeth Banks on The Talk (a competitor of the View with the same format-- a panel of women). The reason i really wanted to watch because, as she often is, Carnie Wilson was a guest panelist.

So when they started to talk about Love & Mercy, Carnie almost immediately teared up, saying it was a very powerful movie (she attended the premiere). Elizabeth praised Melinda, saying that Brian was saved by the love of this wonderful woman. Carnie said, "I just have to say that my mom, Marilyn Wilson, is also very wonderful," or something like that. She defended Marilyn while also acknowledging the support of Melinda. One of the other hosts agreed that she had met Marilyn and "I want her to adopt me!" Carnie talked about how "my daddy taught me to play the piano" and talked how how she still sings with Brian. It was very sweet.

[rn57]

I'd have been watching L&M now at my neighborhood theater - mere blocks away - except that I had to stay here because a guy's coming over to fix the washing machine which has been rattling menacingly for the past few days.

Tonight, I have to go to a party, tomorrow to a conference. But the latter wraps up at 7 pm and 30 minutes later I expect to be sitting in a theater two blocks from it watching L&M. Will report after that.

[CenturyDeprived]

Has Mike said a peep of anything about Brian's film yet?

[Amy B.]

Has Mike said a peep of anything about Brian's film yet?

Have any of the Beach Boys said anything?

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C-.

I'll assume Entertainment Weekly is wrong.

[Misterlou]

Love & Mercy director Bill Pohlad's essential playlist:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/love-mercy-director-made-you-a-soundtrack-featuring-brian-wilson-and-the-beach-boys-20150605

Interesting that it's SMiLE free.

[kookadams]

Just saw it. I cried the whole time. Greatest film ever.

[WonderfulLittlePad]

Love & Mercy director Bill Pohlad's essential playlist:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/love-mercy-director-made-you-a-soundtrack-featuring-brian-wilson-and-the-beach-boys-20150605

Interesting that it's SMiLE free.

He does have Surf's Up on there.  Most SMiLE stuff doesn't work outside of the album IMO.  Outside of Heroes and Villians, Surf's Up and maybe Cabin Essence, I have a hard time listening to anything else unless I'm listening to the whole album.

[Misterlou]

Love & Mercy director Bill Pohlad's essential playlist:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/love-mercy-director-made-you-a-soundtrack-featuring-brian-wilson-and-the-beach-boys-20150605

Interesting that it's SMiLE free.

He does have Surf's Up on there.  Most SMiLE stuff doesn't work outside of the album IMO.  Outside of Heroes and Villians, Surf's Up and maybe Cabin Essence, I have a hard time listening to anything else unless I'm listening to the whole album.

Thanks, I stand corrected then. I could only see the 16 tracks represented in the Spotify list in the article, Surf's Up not being one of them.

[sea of tunes]

Really looking forward to the official soundtrack/score being released.  Renewed hope after Bill Pohlad made mention of it in the COS interview.

What a heady day!

[RONDEMON]

LOVED the movie. Great acting and I loved the cutbacks between the 80s and the 60s. I couldn't have hoped for anything better.
Can't wait to see it again. Both Cusack and Dano were fantastic and really got Brian.

[wilsonart1]

Mpls. paper three articles.. St Paul one.  Directors home town.  Film playing plenty of places.  Don't stay in your room and miss it.

[Rocket]

Just saw it.

Completely speechless. Wow. They nailed it.

[Wirestone]

Deadline.com writes:

“We’re bullish on Love & Mercy, we think it’s really going to work,” said Roadside co-president Howard Cohen. “The film has steadily been building momentum since we picked it up in Toronto, and Brian Wilson has been out in front promoting the movie with us.” Cohen said that the Beach Boys’ continued popularity bodes well for the title, noting that a poll among moviegoers picked the Beach Boys as the number 2 favored band of all-time, just behind the Beatles. “Brian came out with a new album at the beginning of April and composed a new song for the movie called, ‘Our Kind of Love,'” said Cohen. “The movie also makes heavy use of Brian Wilson’s hits.” Wilson has been heavily promoting the film on his Facebook.

Elizabeth Banks, who stars in Pitch Perfect 2, also has focused attention on the feature, which will go up against Entourage, Insidious Chapter 3 and Spy this weekend. “It’s an uplifting story but goes into dark places,” said Cohen. “It [spotlights] two periods of Brian’s life, intercutting his early career with the mid ’80s when he was at the tail end of a bad period under the thumb of a very unscrupulous psychiatrist. The movie has really been touching people.”

Roadside and Lionsgate will open Love & Mercy in about 450 theaters in every major market. “We [did] a big debut at the Academy, and are positioning it for awards later this year,” added Cohen. “It’s opening pretty wide for us — our biggest, aside from The Conspirator.” (The Conspirator opened in 707 theaters in April, 2011, eventually grossing over $11.5M).

http://deadline.com/2015/06/the-beach-boys-brian-wilson-love-mercy-specialty-box-office-preview-1201437888/

[Larry Franz]

(mostly quoting myself from that other board)

Trying to be objective about this movie will be difficult, but I think anyone who watches it will agree that it was a labor of love. The acting, the editing, the sound, the whole look of the movie are all excellent.

There were about 25 people in the audience for an early, weekday afternoon showing here in the suburbs. Hardly anyone made a sound during the entire film (aside from a few laughs). I heard exactly one person shift in his seat one time.

About eight of us sat through all of the credits. On top of that, strangers were talking about the movie in the hallway afterward. One man said "I never imagined his life was like that".

I don't know how it will be received by the population in general, but I think many people who aren't fans will be affected by it and encourage others to see it.

Personally, I'm worn out from the experience. It was intense! The first two words that occurred to me after seeing it were "wow" and "superb".

[sea of tunes]

It was very intense, you're right.  I couldn't take my eyes off of it.  I made up my mind right after the 11:00 am showing to immediately see it again.  I went to the AMC theater nearest my suburb and as I've mentioned, saw the film twice in a row. 

I'm hesitant to discuss much of the film because I don't want to spoil anything for anyone.  Everyone knows the story (if you're on this board you do, anyway).  But I wouldn't dare want to spoil little moments and shots that made my hair go up. 

Last fall, a kind soul shared the screenplay with me.  And I had memorized larges swatches of it for the last 7-8 months.  Seeing what did and did not make it into the finished film was equally as fascinating as going in completely cold, to me anyway. 

I would stop short of saying this without my tongue at least partially planted in cheek but I think viewing this film, if you're a devotee of Brian Wilson and his music and know the story is something of a religious experience.  I know, it sounds cornball, but those are my naked thoughts about this day.

The film is so exquisitely crafted that any small blemish or wrong note gets lost in the whole texture.

There's more that I want to say about specific scenes or interludes but in doing so I'm afraid I would spoil a cold viewing for someone. 

[ontor pertawst]

Damn straight! Loving reading everyone's reactions, boy did they knock it out of the park with this one... I look forward to analyzing and obsessing over what didn't make it in and praying for DVD extras!

[joe_blow]

Here's a negative review from the National Post up here in Canada:

http://news.nationalpost.com/arts/love-and-mercy-review-wouldnt-it-be-nice