TRAILER: Paul Dano and John Cusack Take On Brian Wilson in ‘Love & Mercy’
The trailer for the Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy was released and gave us a good look at just how they pulled off the dual casting of Paul Dano and John Cusack and the young/old Brian Wilson. Paul Dano looks Oscar worthy in what could be a career defining performance for him and John Cusack looks better than he has in years. The two could also be dueling for Best Actor Oscar nominations if Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions play their cards right.
The film tells the story of the two most critical periods in the life of Brian Wilson, the main singer-songwriter behind the enormously successful group The Beach Boys. Wilson, ever the experimenter and revolutionary of the group, pushes the band from their boy next door roots to venture into more complicated music where their success and path often paralleled what The Beatles were doing at the time. Written by Michael A. Lerner and Oscar nominee Oren Moverman (The Messenger, 2009), the film feels more like the handiwork of Moverman, who previously worked with the multiple casting concept of Todd Haynes’ non-biopic of Bob Dylan, I’m Not There (2007). Directed by Bill Pohlad, who hasn’t helmed a film in 15 years, he nonetheless has been carving out a place on the production side of filmmaking, most recently with Wild (2014) and 12 Years a Slave (2013) and earning an Oscar nomination for The Tree of Life (2011).
The film debuted at last year’s Toronto Film Festival and has been doing the festival circuit since then, making stops this year at South by Southwest, Nashville, Dallas, Minneapolis-St. Paul and San Francisco before its national release from Lionsgate and Roadside Pictures on June 5, 2015.
Check out the trailer below:
The poster:
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- 2026 Tribeca Festival Celebrates 25th Anniversary with World Premieres of ‘Hadestown: The Musical,’ ‘Earth, Wind & Fire’ Doc - April 16, 2026
- ‘Beef’ Season 2 Review: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton Sink Their Teeth Into Lee Sung Jin’s Meaty Morality Tale [A-] - April 16, 2026
- George Clooney to be Honored at 51st Chaplin Award Gala by Stephen Colbert, Sam Rockwell and More - April 15, 2026
2026 Tonys: Laurie Metcalf (‘Little Bear Ridge Road,’ ‘Death of a Salesman’) May Join Elite Group of Double-Nominated Performers 
2026 Tribeca Festival Celebrates 25th Anniversary with World Premieres of ‘Hadestown: The Musical,’ ‘Earth, Wind & Fire’ Doc 
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 149 – ‘Killer of Sheep’ (Charles Burnett, 1978) 
‘Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’ Review: Careful the Spell You Cast, Children Will Listen (and Sometimes Kill) [C]