Love and Mercy (2015)

Brian Wilson was the innovative genius behind the Beach Boys, but despite his professional success, for much of his personal life he has battled the dark demons of mental illness.  This bio-pic follows his troubled life.

His father was abusive. Substance abuse, auditory hallucinations, erratic behavior, financial insolvency, attempted suicide, and nervous breakdowns precipitated multiple hospitalizations.  At one point Wilson weighed over 300 pounds and spent months in bed.  An abusive therapist and legal guardian named Eugene Landy (played by Paul Giamatti), who was eventually disbarred from practice, might have saved his life.

As I watched the movie I kept wondering where the marvelous title came from.  Sorry for the spoiler alert, but in a clever effect by the director Bill Pohlad, as the film ends and the credits roll, we watch Wilson perform his 1988 song named "Love and Mercy."

Here are the lyrics:

"I was sittin' in a crummy movie
With my hands on my chin
all the violence that occurs
Seems like we never win

Love and mercy that's what you need tonight
Love and mercy to you and your friends tonight

I was lying in my room
And the news came on TV
A lotta people out there hurtin'
And it really scares me

Love and mercy that's what you need tonight
Love and mercy to you and your friends tonight

I was standing in a bar
And watching all the people there
Oh the loneliness in this world
Well it's just not fair

Love and mercy that's what we need tonight
Love and mercy to you and your friends tonight."

Elsewhere, Wilson explained how he wrote the song:

"I was in my piano room, playing "What the World Needs Now," and I just went into my own song…worked very hard to get out what was in my heart on that one…it’s a personal message from me to people.…We wanted people to be covered with love, because there’s no guarantee of somebody waking up in the morning with any love. It goes away, like a bad dream. It disappears. Mercy would be a deeper word than love. I would think love is a gentle thing and mercy would be a more desperate, ultimately more desperately needed, thing in life. Mercy — a little break here and there for somebody who’s having trouble.…'Love and Mercy' is probably the most spiritual song I’ve ever written."