A musical genius opens up in Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road, an unusual documentary about an unusual man. Brian Wilson. The Beach Boys’ songwriting and arranging master weighs in on his life and work.
As depicted in the film Love & Mercy, Wilson was afflicted with auditory hallucinations at 21, triggering painful years of what was essentially captivity at the hands of a quack doctor. Because Wilson’s affect is oddly flat and he he favors the briefest of answers, he would not be the ideal subject of a conventional interview documentary.
Instead, the filmmakers have Wilson’s old and trusted friend, rock journalist Jason Fine, drive him around important places in Wilson’s life; it’s the format of Comedians in Cars Drinking Coffee, and it pays off with oft emotional revelations. It turns out that Wilson is remarkably open about his travails and his creative process.
Completely at ease cruising Southern California with with Fine, Wilson matter-of-factly replies to very personal questions and even blurts some revelations of his own – as how he detoxed from alcohol, cocaine and cigarettes simultaneously (giving up cigarettes was the toughest).
Remarkably, some of the places in the Beach Boys origin story are now actually adorned with civic historical monuments, including the site of the Wilson family homeplace and the spot of the band’s photo shoot for their Surfer Girl album cover.
We get to see which of his songs that Brian himself listens to when he is feeling grief or nostalgia. And there are indelible moments of great feeling when Brian listens to his own music.
The film also brings in assessments of Brian’s work from master songwriters that include Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and Linda Perry; Perry says, “Brian Wilson is still trying to beat God Only Knows. Can you imagine?”
I saw Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road when it opened the Nashville Film Festival. It’s opening this weekend, including at the Landmark Shattuck in Berkeley.