Sad vibrations from biopic of a tortured musical genius

LOVE & Mercy, Bill Pohlad's sad, searing and darkly intense biopic about Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, takes an unconventional look at the inner workings of a musical genius. The film conveys, with a strong degree of empathy, a sense of what it is like to be both blessed with uncommon talent and also overwhelmed by it.

Parallel narratives set roughly two decades apart follow specific periods in Wilson's life: first during a creative peak when he was a master craftsman in the recording studio, and then in his 40s,…