Biographical drama starring Paul Dano and John Cusack. While recording an album with his band, the Beach Boys, in the 1960s, singer Brian Wilson struggles with panic attacks that concern his bandmates. Later, in the 1980s, an older Wilson tentatively enters into a relationship with a Cadillac saleswoman, but his therapist's intense scrutiny threatens to derail the union before it gathers any momentum.
This uneven biopic focuses on two significant periods in the life of Brian Wilson, the troubled singer-songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. Half the film takes place in the 1960s, and follows Brian (Paul Dano) as he tries to take the band in a different, somewhat experimental direction. The other half jumps to the 1980s, when Brian (now played by John Cusack) has become a fragile, overly medicated man-child whose life is being micro-managed by a manipulative psychotherapist (Paul Giamatti). As the film cuts back and forth, each strand rings false in different ways, especially the romance that develops between Cusack's middle-aged Brian and Elizabeth Banks's compassionate saleswoman. Dano features in the most effective sequences - which depict Brian recording in the studio - but neither he nor Cusack is able to quite disappear into the role. A fascinating biopic could be made about Brian Wilson, but this isn't it.
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Brian Wilson, older | John Cusack |
| Brian Wilson | Paul Dano |
| Melinda Ledbetter | Elizabeth Banks (2) |
| Dr Eugene Landy | Paul Giamatti |
| Mike Love | Jake Abel |
| Dennis Wilson | Kenny Wormald |
| Carl Wilson | Brett Davern |
| Al Jardine | Graham Rogers |
| Murry Wilson | Bill Camp |
| Marilyn Wilson | Erin Darke |
| Van Dyke Parks | Max Schneider |
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Bill Pohlad |
