LOVE & MERCY (12A, 121 mins)

Director: Bill Pohlad

4 stars

Based on the life of rock music pioneer Brian Wilson, this exceptional biographical drama moves between two pivotal times in his life to create a moving portrait of a remarkable artist and a man living at the mercy of his mental fragility.

It’s driven by two superb performances, with John Cusack as the older Wilson in the 1980s and Paul Dano portraying him as a musician at the peak of his powers in the 1960s. It’s clear from the opening minutes that this is a bit different from most films of its type. In a quietly beautiful scene that involves nothing more than Cusack’s Wilson trying to buy a car, he meets salesperson Melinda (Elizabeth Banks) who will become an important figure in his life. It’s a deceptively simple moment, but it reveals so much about Brian, his sadness as he tells her about how his brother died a couple of years before and he’s still not been able to process it.

This is also our way in to Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti), Brian’s doctor and manager, who treats him like a child, medicating him way beyond what is necessary or good for him. So begins a battle between Melinda and Landy with Brian’s life and career in the balance.

Back in the 60s we meet Dano’s Brian as The Beach Boys are already a highly successful pop act with their surf songs. Haunted by his abusive father, Wilson wants to constantly innovate, to keep up with The Beatles, though the rest of his band can’t keep up with him musically. He’s a prodigy who can more or less see the music, but this combination of madness and genius, not to mention copious LSD, means his mental health is starting to wobble.

And that’s even before it comes to seeing him create the music. Plenty of movies have shown us bands rehearsing or songs being recorded, but there’s rarely been an insight into the creative process like this. This is art being created on film before our eyes and it’s glorious; that it just happens to some of the greatest pop songs ever made is a bonus. Filmed fly on the wall style on 16mm like it was contemporary footage, it’s given a real immediacy, drawing you in like it’s really happening.

Dano is very good in terms of his body language and portraying the tortured genius, but we couldn’t have known Cusack had a performance of such warmth and tenderness in him, finding the gentle depths of Wilson with a quiet power. Equally impressive is Banks, who has to go from concerned reaction shots to finding an inner strength, and she matches Cusack in every scene they share.

Love & Mercy rips up the biopic playbook and delivers incredibly compelling stuff whatever angle is being played. There’s meaty drama and terrific characters here, every scene is graceful and informative and it’s a film of immense compassion and humanity that’s as good as any biopic you’ll see.

TED 2 (15, 116 mins)

Director: Seth MacFarlane

3 stars

So here’s where we are at the start of this seemingly uncalled for comedy sequel: talking teddy Ted (voiced by writer-director and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane) is married and his best pal John (Mark Wahlberg) is divorced.

Ted and his wife want to have a baby, but in order for them to proceed, Ted has to prove in court that he’s human, leading them to hire a lawyer (Amanda Seyfried) to help their case.

Occasionally this storyline is adhered to, but really this is just a scattershot collection of dumb cracks and swear words with a hit rate that’s probably above average for this sort of thing.

A running gag about Seyfried having no awareness of pop culture never pays off, and more often than not jokes are prone to just hanging there, while every now and then someone remembers there’s a subplot involving Giovanni Ribisi who wants to steal Ted and turn him into a mass produced talking toy.

But there’s a good eye for physical stuff and many of the non-sequitur jokes land surprisingly strongly - an early Liam Neeson appearance, apropos of absolutely nothing, is a scream, one of a bunch of fun cameos.

Somewhere deep down there’s an attempt at a beating heart, but for the most part it can be quite cruel, and that won’t be to everyone’s taste. But if you can handle the crudity, the dead air and the slapdash lack of cohesion, there’s a passable amount of decent comedy to experience here.

SONG OF THE SEA (PG, 94 mins)

Director: Tomm Moore

4 stars

This lovely Irish tale was deservedly nominated for best animated feature at the last Oscars and finally arrives in cinemas where it can hopefully work its magic.

Young lad Ben, whose mother died giving birth to his sister Saoirse, lives in a lighthouse with her and dad (voiced by Brendan Gleeson). At six years old Saoirse still hasn’t talked, but is drawn to the sea by the spirit of her mother and for their own safety they're sent to the mainland to live with their grandmother.

Once there they set out on an adventure to get home, meeting all manner of mysterious beings along the way in a rich and rewarding fantasy that’s steeped in Irish lore and delights consistently with its islands and giants and fairies.

Brought to life with striking hand drawn animation that’s simple but stylised, it’s up there with Japanese studio Ghibli in terms of beauty and elegance and the ability to capture emotion with its expressive textures.

Most vitally it has buckets of storytelling charm while dealing with themes of grief and sorrow and healing, with a wonderful emotional kick that hopefully means it won’t be ignored in the face of the Minions and the might of Pixar.

THE CHOIR (PG, 103 mins)

Director: François Girard

3 stars

Troubled young orphan Stet (Garrett Wareing) is sent from his Texas hometown to a prestigious music school where it’s discovered he has the voice of an angel.

Between extended bouts of choir practice and the occasional mild beef with fellow pupils, this gentle family drama is all very agreeable, with nothing to cause excitement and nothing really worth complaining about.

It’s left to Dustin Hoffman to provide some spark with a charmingly grumpy performance as a legendary choirmaster, as he mentors Stet with his tough love approach. Think Whiplash but much, much nicer.