Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys experiences immense success with the boy band he co-founded in the 1960s. Yet his life takes a strange twist of fate after a panic attack. Wilson secludes himself to record “the greatest album ever made,” ‘Pet Sounds.’ His internal struggles break out externally as he begins to lose grip on reality. His pharmaceutical therapist Dr. Eugene Landy takes advantage of Wilson’s disposition and begins to manipulate his decisions. Melinda Ledbetter, his love interest does all she can to save his life. ‘Love and Mercy,’ a biography of Brian Wilson hit theaters on Friday, June 5.

IMDb rated the score 7.6/10 out of 618 users. Metacritic gave the film a Metascore of 80 taken from 36 critics. The film received 32 positive reviews, 3 mixed reviews, and 1 negative review. Rotten Tomatoes rated the film 88% on its Tomatometer with an average rating of 7.6/10 out of 99 reviews. It received 87 Fresh reviews and 12 Rotten reviews. Its Audience Score is 97% with an average rating of 4.8/5 taken from 4,799 user ratings. It made $640,000 on opening night.

‘Love and Mercy’ stars John Cusack as Brian Wilson–Future, Paul Dano as Brian Wilson–Past, Elizabeth Banks as Melinda Ledbetter Wilson, Paul Giamatti as Dr. Eugene Landy, Erin Darke as Marilyn Wilson, Brett Davern as Carl Wilson, Kenny Wormald as Dennis Wilson, Jake Abel as Mike Love, Graham Rogers as Al Jardine, Bill Camp as Murry Wilson, Max Schneider as Van Dyke Parks, Mark Linett as Chuck Britz, Johnny Sneed as Hal Blaine, Teresa Cowles as Carol Kaye, and Jonathan Slavin as Phil Spector.

The film was directed by Bill Pohlad and edited by Dino Jonsäter. The producers of the film are Bill Pohlad, Claire Rudnick Polstein, and John Wells. It was written by Michael Alan Lerner and Oren Moverman. The film is based on the novel Heroes and Villains by Michael Alen Lerner. The movie features music by Atticus Ross. Robert Yeoman is the cinematographer. Battle Mountain Films and River Road Entertainment are the production companies behind the film. It was distributed by Roadside Attractions. The film runs for 121 minutes.

Reviews from Rotten Tomatoes:

“By deciding not to make "Love & Mercy" a musical biopic, the filmmakers have turned Wilson's story into what it seems to have been all along: the adventure of one man's arduous, terrifying, ultimately triumphant search for God,” wrote Ann Hornaday from Washington Post.

“Unnerving as it is thrilling, as visually and aurally vivid as it is emotionally harrowing,” wrote Lisa Kennedy from Denver Post.

“Dano and Cusack never let us forget that Wilson is human before he is anything else - genius, icon, legend,” wrote Peter Rainer from Christian Science Monitor.

“After seeing "Love & Mercy," you'll find it nearly impossible to resist the urge to download (or re-listen to) a dozen Beach Boys classics,” wrote Richard Roeper from Chicago Sun-Times.

“To capture the artistic process in this way is extraordinary, and in many ways unprecedented,” wrote Joe Neumaier from New York Daily News.

“Innovation, precision, a complete switch in focus, daring ... these are not things you expect from a Hollywood film biography,” wrote Tom Long from Detroit News.

“We see the pop maestro as misunderstood, confused and alienated - ahead of his time or just not up to it. Either way, the man was far-out, and so is this film,” wrote Brad Wheeler from Globe and Mail.