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Bill Pohlad's 'Love And Mercy' Delves Into Brian Wilson's Genius

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Brian Wilson defined the Beach Boys' California sound, but it took a Minnesotan to bring his story to the silver screen.

Bill Pohlad directed the new film "Love and Mercy," which spans more than three decades of Wilson's life, revealing the darker story that lies beneath the upbeat music.

"You want to relate to the person as a real human being. You want to feel what he feels," Pohlad said. "It's not the celebrity version, it's not the -- with all due respect -- the People Magazine version. It's an intimate look at this guy's life and his struggles"

Wilson's struggles were mighty. He heard voices. He was afraid to tell people. It helped him visualize music, but at the expense of living what many would consider a normal life with stable relationships.

Pohlad talked to Wilson extensively about this mental illness.

"This thing that Brian has is called schizoid effective disorder, so it has some elements of schizophrenia but it's not. He has hallucinations, but not visual; they are auditory," Pohlad said.

Actor Paul Dano plays the younger Wilson. John Cusack plays the older Wilson. Elizabeth Banks plays Wilson's second wife. And actor Paul Giamatti is Eugene Landy, the therapist that for years influenced Wilson's life.

Pohlad says what Landy did to Wilson should make us all think, "How do we treat people who have mental issue like that? And the challenges, and often times, as we see in Brian's life, they get taken advantage of or really misunderstood. It can really hurt them."

Pohlad made the film with the full cooperation of Brian Wilson.

His surf music is deeper than it appears. The sounds are complex and still popular today. Pohlad shows us a brilliant, troubled young man created groundbreaking music.

"He was going in a real direction. He was competing with the Beatles for sure. There was a friendly but fierce rivalry between the two," Pohlad said. "His genius is important to get out."

The movie opens Friday in the Twin Cities. It's rated PG-13.

Wilson is 72. He just finished a new album and has been travelling to some film festivals to support the film. "Love and Mercy," by the way, is also the name of a Brian Wilson song.

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