Love & Mercy

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Love & Mercy (2015)

The Music and Mystery of Brian Wilson

Brian and Melinda Wilson with Biopic Cast

This movie “is a loving tribute to the Beach Boys and the man responsible for their distinctive sound, but it goes to deeper and stranger places than most movies of its kind.”

There’s a theory of negative alchemy that posits that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can turn gold into lead.  In Brian Wilson’s case perhaps it was turning platinum into gold.  What we know about Wilson is that his verbally and physically abusive father (and perhaps an alcoholic mother) may have set the stage for his later mental deterioration that was also related to his substance abuse as a young adult.

Love & Mercy is an engrossing look at mental illness, creativity and amazing music.

NY Times Review of Love & Mercy.