Details

Release year: 2014

Storyline

In the 60s, Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson struggles with emerging psychosis as he attempts to craft his avant-garde pop masterpiece. In the 80s, he's a broken, confused man under the 24-hour watch of shady therapist, Dr. Eugene Landy.

Top credits

Directors

Bill Pohlad

Writers

Cast

John Cusack — Brian - Future
Paul Dano — Brian - Past
Elizabeth Banks — Melinda Ledbetter
Paul Giamatti — Dr. Eugene Landy

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Did you know

• The real Wilson reported having a mild dissociative experience while watching the film. He started to believe that Paul Giamatti was the actual Eugene Landy and felt "absolutely in fear" for several minutes.

• The studio scenes were improvised in a live, unrehearsed pseudo-documentary style with two 16mm handheld cameras. Paul Dano, who once played in a band, was really directing the actors on how to play their instruments, who themselves were also real life musicians. While these scenes were mostly unscripted, Dano directly quoted some lines spoken by Wilson from the original session tapes.

• "Love and Mercy" is the title of a song written by Brian Wilson. It is the opening track of his solo album "Brian Wilson', released July 1988. Eugene Landy was originally credited as the song's co-writer. After the state of California barred Landy from contacting Wilson, all of Landy's songwriting credits were removed from Wilson's songs.