So what is a biopic that isn’t, in a comprehensive way, biographical? Just a pic? In the case of Love & Mercy (and in the opinion of Brian Wilson), it’s an incredibly accurate and inventive representation of a musical genius and the major artistic and personal events that had the most profound impact on his inner life. Anyone already familiar with this story will not leave with much additional insight.” Pohlad, along with screenwriters Michael Alan Lerner and Oren Moverman, make damn sure that these well-known aspects of Wilson’s life are put front and center. He battles with inner music in one decade and mental illness in the other. In the ‘60s, he’s controlled by record labels, his bandmates, and his father in the ‘80s, he’s controlled by Landy. The blanks in-between stay that way.Īs PopMatters explains, “ Love & Mercy, though a fine watch through and through, really hammers home the predictable dualities of Wilson’s life. The details relevant to these two points in time are strong. Love & Mercy is Brian’s story, centered around two substantial times in his life: The mid-1960s (a section played by Paul Dano), during the development of his bipolar schizoaffective disorder when he quit touring to focus on creating something more musically profound than the pop tunes for which he was known, and the 1980s (a section played by John Cusack), when his life was fully operated by Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti), a domineering Svengali doctor who nearly held Wilson’s hand on the path to self-destruction until he was rescued by the love of car saleswoman Melinda Ledbetter (Elizabeth Banks). There’s no rise to fame as they craft their early classics-the likes of “Barbara Ann” and “Surfing USA” and “California Girls”-aside from a brief montage during the credits that ends before the film starts. You don’t walk away with a better understanding of the band and the music they made as a group. Although it’s a story about Beach Boys founder and frontman Brian Wilson, it’s not about the Beach Boys. Along the way, the audience enjoys the figure’s rise while gaining insight into their demons, feeling comforted by the person’s final recovery.īut Love & Mercy (2015) is a different kind of biopic. They often show the person come from humble beginnings, launch into success, encounter some sort of riff (with their band, with drugs, with money), and come out of it in the end. 1 feat.Conventional biopics condense the events of a popular figure’s life from the early days of their career to the end. Gabriel Massan & LYZZAįact Premiere: Susu Laroche - washing touch offĬktrl interview: Composing a soundscape for I ♥ Campbellįact Premiere: Aurélien Bernard - (reed) įact Premiere: Síbín Vol. The record will come as a limited-edition 10″ on blue and yellow swirled vinyl on October 14 – find it on Death Waltz’s web store.Įarlier this month Death Waltz announced its acquisition by Austin-based reissue specialists Mondo and plans for the release of Alex North’s unused 2001: A Space Odyssey soundtrack. Meanwhile, check out label boss Spencer Hickman’s special FACT Halloween mix.ĭeath Waltz to release Berberian Sound Studio ‘film-within-a-film’ soundtrackĪrt and gaming: What elements should every game have?įact Premiere: Alexandra Koumantaki - Gazeįact launches art and gaming print issue ft. We dare you to come out unscathed from the bloodcurdling terror that is The Equestrian Vortex,” adds Death Waltz. “Adding to this is the conspiratorial dialogue from actresses Silvia, Claudia, and Elisa, reading bizarre incantations that unleash the full horror of what lies beneath. Prolific British sound artist and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Liles has taken on the role of Berberian Sound Studio’s protagonist Gilderoy (played by actor Toby Jones) to piece together “a journey into the unconscious, where ghosts swirl with ethereal drones as screams echo into the night,” says the label. Now though, Death Waltz Recording Company have announced the release of an imagined soundtrack for that film-within-a-film, The Equestrian Vortex, about a coven of witches operating a riding academy. Peter Strickland’s flipping brilliant Brit flick Berberian Sound Studio, about a 1970s sound engineer crafting special effects for a giallo film, featured a wonderfully creepy soundtrack by the late, great Broadcast. Horror specialists issue spooky meta experiment from sound artist Andrew Liles.
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