Love & Mercy is an amazing film. I think anyone that is a fan of great acting will respect what John Cusack and Paul Dano deliver here. The fact that neither looks anything like Brian Wilson is a non-factor. I will praise Dano's commitment to the role in transforming physically as Wilson was when he started to gain weight. But it's more than that. Seeing Paul nail it in every frame he was on screen was extraordinary, especially for me who knows a lot about Wilson's story. To see his story come to life was hair-raising for me. Cusack was the same way in his performance and does an amazing job of getting across the pain and paranoia you feel for Wilson and what his genius cost him in the end. Both Dano and Cusack get all the praise from all the critics and rightly so, but you can't deny the impact that Elizabeth Banks and Paul Giamatti also bring to the film. This is not a conventional movie, but the performances are so great that you will not care. I loved the way it's edited together and how both era's eventually merge into one. Great job by Director Bill Pohlad. I highly recommend this for sure.