I don’t remember seeing another film that made me feel so sad and uneasy without relief while watching. Without the usual narrative peaks and valleys, this artful Brian Wilson biopic is relentless in its descent.

Director Bill Pohlad has an extensive background as a producer (Wild, 12 Years a Slave, Into the Wild, Brokeback Mountain, etc.), and Love & Mercy makes me eager to see his next film, too.

Paul Dano plays the 1960s era Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson, whose creative growth is coupled with a mental collapse. John Cusack plays Wilson during the 1980s when he is under the control of an unscrupulous (mild description) therapist, and his prospects seem less than bleak.

The shifting back and forth between the two timelines and the choices Pohlad makes within each are unconventional, but the film works. What emerges in this unlikely biopic is a sensitive story, an uncommonly revealing portrait of a gifted musician battered by the pressures of fame, family dysfunction, and a succession of people who want to abuse his talent for their own ends.

Expect to leave the theater feeling that your own problems have shrunk in proportion to what you have witnessed.

Highly recommended.