gfxgfx
 
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
logo
 
gfx gfx
gfx
680597 Posts in 27600 Topics by 4068 Members - Latest Member: Dae Lims March 28, 2024, 11:25:08 AM
*
gfx*HomeHelpSearchCalendarLoginRegistergfx
gfxgfx
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.       « previous next »
Pages: 1 2 [3] Go Down Print
Author Topic: Love & Mercy biopic reassessed  (Read 13376 times)
Chocolate Shake Man
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 2871


View Profile
« Reply #50 on: April 19, 2018, 12:44:08 PM »

Most of the negative comments about the film largely centered on the use of Dano and Cusack to play Brian's character.  It probably would have been more effective to have had Dano carry it all the way through.  The movie would have done better with a less confusing title.

Oh for me, the fact that there are two actors playing Brian is one of the movies strengths, albeit not a totally unique idea. Actually, something I'd like to see is a movie that uses both the real person and an actor at various different points of the film (not just in a cameo somewhere).
« Last Edit: April 19, 2018, 12:45:11 PM by Chocolate Shake Man » Logged
Lonely Summer
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 3932


View Profile
« Reply #51 on: April 19, 2018, 11:03:10 PM »

I liked the 60's studio scenes, and it annoyed me that they didn't attempt any similar scenes of Brian recording in the 80's. Non fans seeing this film could be forgiven for thinking Brian was not active in recording during the Landy years.
Logged
RangeRoverA1
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 4336


I drink expired tea. wanna sip or spit?


View Profile
« Reply #52 on: April 20, 2018, 04:30:45 AM »

Paul Giamatti's performance is imo the best acting in the 80s scenes.

Paul Giamatti has a knack for stealing the show in biopics. 

Check out his roles in Private Parts (Howard Stern) and Man on the Moon (Andy Kaufman).
He should be given Oscar. Did Giamatti get it for any picture?
Logged

Short notice: the cat you see to the left is the best. Not counting your indoor cat who might have habit sitting at your left side when you post at SmileySmile.

Who is Lucille Ball & Vivian Vance Duet Fan Club CEO? Btw, such Club exists?

Zany zealous Zeddie eats broccoli at brunch break but doesn't do's & don't's due to duties.
KDS
Guest
« Reply #53 on: April 20, 2018, 05:34:06 AM »

Paul Giamatti's performance is imo the best acting in the 80s scenes.

Paul Giamatti has a knack for stealing the show in biopics. 

Check out his roles in Private Parts (Howard Stern) and Man on the Moon (Andy Kaufman).
He should be given Oscar. Did Giamatti get it for any picture?

He was only nominated once, for a supporting role in Cinderella Man, but he didn't win. 
Logged
HeyJude
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 10029



View Profile WWW
« Reply #54 on: April 20, 2018, 06:44:02 AM »

L&M *succeeded* in major part by *not* trying to run through all those in-between years. Watch "Summer Dreams", that's what happens when you try to cram too much chronology in (and that film really only ran to about 1984). Same with "An American Family", which really only ran to 1974/76 and took over three hours of screen time.

L&M isn't a history of the BBs. It's not even a history of BW. It's a character study about a couple of key points in his life. It's not even really a "Biopic", though it gets categorized as that for lack of something else to call it beyond simply a "Drama", etc.

The movie conveys Brian's personal hell. It helps you understand maybe a little bit of why he is the way he is. I'm gonna crib once again from Howie Edelson, who in his review of the film said (I'm slightly paraphrasing) that this film helps show you that Brian Wilson is the guy who wrote "This Whole World" for people he'll never meet or know. Just think about that. To me, *that's* what's profound. For his own sake, he probably should have given up music long ago. I think he has sacrificed some happiness to continue to make music. He may even do it as much for himself as for us. But we've reaped the benefits, and it is at the cost (whether we want it or not) of Brian's sanity.

I also think that while I'd probably say Dano's segment is better than Cusack's, Cusack's is still strong as well. Case in point: The hamburger scene. As Billy mentioned, this scene is really just beyond sad. It may be the emotional low point of the movie. It's a situational sort of thing that I think some people truly understand in terms of how awful it is. And you know what? This scene is surely *FAR LESS* awful than stuff that *actually* went down. It reminds me of watching one of those bonus features for "The Dark Knight" where they discuss the CGI effects for Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Quick primer: He loses half of his face in a fire, and they did some very realistic CGI effects on his face and then decided they had to actually purposely make the effect *less realistic*, because the realistic version was too jarring. I think especially the Cusack/Landy stuff in L&M is similar. They actually walked back the truly awful, awful stuff because I think it would have just been too dark and depressing and awful.
Logged

THE BEACH BOYS OPINION PAGE IS ON FACEBOOK!!! http://www.facebook.com/beachboysopinion - Check out the original "BEACH BOYS OPINION PAGE" Blog - http://beachboysopinion.blogspot.com/
GoogaMooga
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 580



View Profile
« Reply #55 on: April 20, 2018, 07:39:13 AM »

Yes, at least one recording session scene from 88 would have been good, or from Sweet Insanity (!) To show how Landy wanted to bask in Brian's fame, to the point of getting (co- ?) producer's credit.
Logged
KDS
Guest
« Reply #56 on: April 20, 2018, 08:30:10 AM »

Yes, at least one recording session scene from 88 would have been good, or from Sweet Insanity (!) To show how Landy wanted to bask in Brian's fame, to the point of getting (co- ?) producer's credit.

There is a scene were Landy is trying to get an out of it Brian to sing a song called "Heaven is a Car" (maybe that's an early version of In My Car or Let's Go To Heaven in My Car??), which shows Landy trying to direct Brian in the studio. 
Logged
GoogaMooga
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 580



View Profile
« Reply #57 on: April 20, 2018, 09:43:43 AM »

Yes, at least one recording session scene from 88 would have been good, or from Sweet Insanity (!) To show how Landy wanted to bask in Brian's fame, to the point of getting (co- ?) producer's credit.

There is a scene were Landy is trying to get an out of it Brian to sing a song called "Heaven is a Car" (maybe that's an early version of In My Car or Let's Go To Heaven in My Car??), which shows Landy trying to direct Brian in the studio. 

Yes, I noticed that one. My thoughts exactly. They could have mined that stuff a little more, then Landy's desperate scene at the car dealer's would have made more sense to the average viewer. Landy was desperate to keep Brian; losing him meant not only losing money but also fame by association and appropriated credits.
Logged
KDS
Guest
« Reply #58 on: April 20, 2018, 09:50:11 AM »

Yes, at least one recording session scene from 88 would have been good, or from Sweet Insanity (!) To show how Landy wanted to bask in Brian's fame, to the point of getting (co- ?) producer's credit.

There is a scene were Landy is trying to get an out of it Brian to sing a song called "Heaven is a Car" (maybe that's an early version of In My Car or Let's Go To Heaven in My Car??), which shows Landy trying to direct Brian in the studio. 

Yes, I noticed that one. My thoughts exactly. They could have mined that stuff a little more, then Landy's desperate scene at the car dealer's would have made more sense to the average viewer. Landy was desperate to keep Brian; losing him meant not only losing money but also fame by association and appropriated credits.

They also touched on it when Landy mentioned he was staying in Brian's house, while Brian stayed in the guest house.   And while not mentioning the fact that Landy received songwriting credits on the current Beach Boys album at the time, it did seem pretty clear that Landy and his cronies were enjoying the good life on Brian's dime. 
Logged
NOLA BB Fan
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Female
Posts: 919


"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."


View Profile
« Reply #59 on: April 20, 2018, 12:56:34 PM »

I also think that while I'd probably say Dano's segment is better than Cusack's, Cusack's is still strong as well. Case in point: The hamburger scene. As Billy mentioned, this scene is really just beyond sad. It may be the emotional low point of the movie. It's a situational sort of thing that I think some people truly understand in terms of how awful it is. And you know what? This scene is surely *FAR LESS* awful than stuff that *actually* went down. ... They actually walked back the truly awful, awful stuff because I think it would have just been too dark and depressing and awful.

I skip over the hamburger scene, too depressing. Gets me so upset, how Landy humiliated Brian in public for no good reason. The restaurant scene in that 1970s Rolling Stone article was similarly depressing.
Logged

"No White Flags." - Team Gleason

"(Brian) got into this really touching music with songs like 'In My Room', and 'Good Vibrations' was amazing. The melodies are so beautiful, almost perfect. I began to realize he was one of the most gifted writers of our generation." - Paul Simon

 "The best thing you can be 'like' in music is yourself." Dr. John
Sam_BFC
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Online Online

Gender: Male
Posts: 1074


View Profile
« Reply #60 on: April 21, 2018, 05:27:15 AM »

Hi Nola
Please remind or provide a link to restaurant scene reference in Rolling Stone
Logged

"..be cautious, don't get your hopes up, look over your shoulder because heartbreak and darkness are always ready to pounce"

petsoundsnola
NOLA BB Fan
Smiley Smile Associate
*
Offline Offline

Gender: Female
Posts: 919


"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."


View Profile
« Reply #61 on: April 21, 2018, 07:30:42 AM »

I don't have the link handy. Think it was the RS issue with Brian on the cover.
The guy who wrote the article related something he witnessed. He was at a restaurant with Brian, Landy and others. Brian apparently did some minor faux pas, and Landy lit into him, bringing him to tears.
The author didn't indicate what Brian did but wrote that it surely didn't warrant Landy's overreaction.

So similar to the "hamburger" scene
Logged

"No White Flags." - Team Gleason

"(Brian) got into this really touching music with songs like 'In My Room', and 'Good Vibrations' was amazing. The melodies are so beautiful, almost perfect. I began to realize he was one of the most gifted writers of our generation." - Paul Simon

 "The best thing you can be 'like' in music is yourself." Dr. John
gfx
Pages: 1 2 [3] Go Up Print 
gfx
Jump to:  
gfx
Powered by SMF 1.1.21 | SMF © 2015, Simple Machines Page created in 0.597 seconds with 22 queries.
Helios Multi design by Bloc
gfx
Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!