A biopic about Beach Boys' creative soul Brian Wilson who struggled not only with the pressure of fame but also with his own ghosts and demons.
When the film starts, the Beach Boys are at the peak of their career. Big hits such as 'I get around' and 'Surfin' in the USA' have already been tuned in the radio and a young generation of Americans were dancing to their beach-surf rock music. However Brian Wilson wanted to give a new direction to their music: that is when he wrote entirely and recorded with experienced musicians the fantastic album 'Pet Sounds'. Even if this was the beginning of profound admiration from music critics and common people to the talent of Brian Wilson, it was the beginning of dark times for him. His inner madness would posses him by the power of fame and the pressures of people who were expecting so much from him.
The film alternates between past and present giving full spotlight to Brian Wilson. Two brilliant actors, Paul Dano (young Wilson) and John Cusack (older Wilson) depicts him with great talent and credibility. Supporting actors are stunning such as Paul Giamatti acting as his manipulative manager. They are the pillar of the film because sadly, the script is not the best thing from this film.
Indeed the script alternates between the past and present following a certain logical pattern but however this does not add further quality to it. It gets fuzzy, it gets confusing. The film's length starts to be felt to a certain point and it seems that the story doesn't know where is it heading. That is why the conclusion feels a bit 'quickly wrapped-up'. We are far from the great biopics such as Walk the Mile or Ray. Nevertheless if you enjoy the Beach Boys music and are interested into the story of a solitary and crazy man such as Wilson, then this is a good film.
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