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

[Debbie Keil-Leavitt]

I was never especially worried about how precisely the actors look like Brian.  What I do care about in this film is what I always care about in any biographical piece: do the actors and the film capture the essence of the person for the story and how good is the story?  Also, is it told with some dignity?  If that happens, we get caught up in the story anyway and the actor owns the role.  That's been proven time and again.  Given the filmmakers involved, I feel good about this.  The actors all have good to spectacular track records and Bill Pohlad has always done quality work.  I'm pleased and looking forward to the film.

[Debbie Keil-Leavitt]

Trailer's pretty cool! But trust me - the actual film is far more ethereous and unorthodox. Just like the man himself. It's a trip!

Ah - that's perfect - really looking forward to it!

[Pretty Funky]

Did I spot Gary Griffin 26 Seconds in on the trailer ??

Sure looks like him. Why not I guess.

edit

From his wiki page.

Griffin will appear as a session musician in the forthcoming Brian Wilson biopic, "Love and Mercy (film)", starring John Cusack, Paul Giamatti and Paul Dano to be released in the summer of 2015

[Les P]

Incredibly excited about this...even more than I was.

[bgas]

Can I have Elizabeth Banks for Christmas?

[Steve Latshaw]

It is Gary...

[lostbeachboy]

Hey what do ya know! Al is taller than Carl.

[Lowbacca]

Hey what do ya know! Al is taller than Carl.

We had that discussion back when the first set photos of the BBs appeared. Has no relevance in the film, though.

[Lowbacca]

So hyped. Really not sure about the Cusack scenes though. I know he's a good actor but he doesn't look like Brian at all :\

Cusack does a good job of 'impersonating' BW spiritually, which is the most important thing.


As for compliance purely regarding his physical appearance - it's NOT that far off:

[Debbie Keil-Leavitt]

Looks pretty great to me!

[bringahorseinhere?]

I wonder if the other 'Beach Boys' have seen it, and more so, what do they think about the portrayal???

RickB

[Lowbacca]

I wonder if the other 'Beach Boys' have seen it, and more so, what do they think about the portrayal???

RickB

Great question for Mike's new message board.

[beacharg]

The scene in the trailer where Dano "transforms" into Cusack lying in bed is amazing, so far I'm buiyng Cusack's interpretation, it seems he did a good job. The trailer is good, I hope the movie is even better.

The only bad thing, (I may be wrong) it seems to be that is a hard-core fans movie... I've already read some comments on youtube by people that has no idea who Brian is, and found the trailer unappealing... Let's hope a good promotion can fight that.

[Lowbacca]

The only bad thing, (I may be wrong) it seems to be that is a hard-core fans movie... I've already read some comments on youtube by people that has no idea who Brian is, and found the trailer unappealing... Let's hope a good promotion can fight that.

The trailer - maybe. The movie itself (for all its multi-layered weirdness) is built around a love story that is very relatable. No worries about the film not appealing not general audiences.

[acedecade75]

 It looks great.  But, I can't imagine how difficult it must be for Brian to watch this himself.

[joshferrell]

I wonder if the other 'Beach Boys' have seen it, and more so, what do they think about the portrayal???

RickB

well let's see if the lawyers have  edited the film since it played last year 

[Larry Franz]

Trailer's pretty cool! But trust me - the actual film is far more ethereous and unorthodox. Just like the man himself. It's a trip!

Ah - that's perfect - really looking forward to it!

The movie looks great, but I think this brief teaser gives the wrong impression: that this is a good-looking but standard VH1 "Behind the Music" biopic. Maybe that's best from a marketing standpoint, but I don't think it does the movie justice, based on what people like Lowbacca have said about it. Perhaps the full-length trailer will give a better impression and make the film sound more interesting to prospective viewers, not just fans.

[lostbeachboy]

Hey what do ya know! Al is taller than Carl.

We had that discussion back when the first set photos of the BBs appeared. Has no relevance in the film, though.

Yes I know it has no relevance. Other then the fact that Al is taller then Carl.

[Shady]

We can all rest easy, the movie won't be terrible.

That said I'm not blown away by the trailer, the Cusack stuff looks a bit iffy.

I'll be there first day of release though, can't wait 

[RangeRoverA1]

Lookin' great! John doesn't look 1 bit like Brian, but I think I'll be OK with the film in general. Re Brian not feeling comfortable watching it, I disagree. If it were the case, he wouldn't go out to attend 2 festival screenings. I think he knows his worth & has self-respect for what he achieved. Which is how it should be for someone of his caliber.

I'll be there first day of release though, can't wait 

I'll be the 1st to request it on our local movie uploading site. If I can watch for free why pay for it, right?

[The Cincinnati Kid]

I'll be there first day of release though, can't wait 

I'll be the 1st to request it on our local movie uploading site. If I can watch for free why pay for it, right?

Wrong 

[RangeRoverA1]

Says who?

[zachrwolfe]

‍

[bossaroo]

I'd say a movie of this magnitude deserves to be seen on the big screen. you're cheating yourself out of a superior experience if you choose to watch it on your computer. there really is a huge difference.


as for the casting, it appears more care may have gone into properly portraying Banana and Louie than actual Beach Boys. and I can't really say I'm disappointed

[alf wiedersehen]

I'd say a movie of this magnitude deserves to be seen on the big screen. you're cheating yourself out of a superior experience if you choose to watch it on your computer. there really is a huge difference.

Hearing the music in a theater setting is gonna be really great, too.