Love & Mercy (2014)

  You know The Beach Boys, right?  Boy band from the 50s, wrote a bunch of super upbeat songs about surfing and girls and cars?  Imagine somebody wrote the most depressing movie possible about The Beach Boys.  Now double it.  That's Love & Mercy.

Split into two storylines, one shows Brian Wilson (Paul Dano) in the 60s.  The band is losing its relevance to upstarts like The Beatles and Brian is searching for a new sound, but also having a psychotic break.  The other storyline is in the 80s, where Cadillac saleswoman Melinda Ledbetter (Elizabeth Banks) starts dating Brian Wilson (John Cusack), now diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, before realizing that he is being essentially held captive by his abusive psychologist, Dr. Eugene Landry (Paul Giamatti).  

It's a nice to have the juxtaposition, the descent into madness and the clawing back out of it, but holy shit, is it a hard watch.  Giamatti is never better than when he is screaming incoherently and wearing a terrible wig and he Nailed It here on both counts.  This is the best role I've seen Cusack in for years but Banks really doesn't have a lot to do but look concerned and be hot in 80s fashion.  Also, special shout out to Diana Maria Riva, turning in yet another memorable character role.  I see you, girl.  It's currently streaming on Peacock if you wanted to see someone destroyed by their art today.