Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road

On the eve of his 80th birthday, I watched this celebratory 2021 overview of Brian Wilson's life and career. His musical legacy is well covered here through interviews with fellow luminaries like Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, and Don Was. His countless personal tragedies are also recounted in detail (including the deaths of brothers Dennis and Carl), but the personal impact on Wilson felt somewhat elliptical due to his ongoing mental struggles. Rolling Stone editor Jason Reis does a good job eliciting some insight by gaining Wilson's trust in what comes across as private conversations. What remains clearest is Wilson's desire to keep making music, a lot of which still sounds great.

There's something sad about how some of the interviewees here talk about Brian Wilson in the past tense, because the man is still around, and he's still creative and engaged in music. Maybe they're subconsciously saying they think Brian Wilson today is divorced from the Brian Wilson of the 60s, but if so, that's a little unfair. It's not a slight against the documentary - more against the interviewees, even if they didn't realise they were doing it.

One thing that did bug me was how they didn't subtitle one of the interviewees who spoke in Spanish. Might just be a problem with the version available to be rented off YouTube, but the captions only offer a very unhelpful "speaking foreign language", which is pretty disrespectful to the guy (Gustavo Dudamel) and comes across lazy to the viewer.

Otherwise it's a nice music documentary. Not much info Beach Boy fans won't already know, but lots of good archive footage and new footage with Brian Wilson himself, who's an interesting and sympathetic subject for a documentary.

It's nice to see him continue to battle his personal demons and continue to live his life now almost at the age of 80. And I liked the bond he has with music journalist Jason Fine, with their conversations being necessary in this documentary, as it's acknowledged that Wilson struggles with traditional interviews.

So overall it's a nice but not completely remarkable music documentary. I'd still get it to a 7/10, because I do really love the music of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys, and being a big Bruce Springsteen fan, I liked seeing him fanboy out over The Beach Boys in his interviews here.

God bless Jason Fine for being a friend Brian can trust and for creating this peek into his life. I watched this on a trans-Atlantic flight and had plenty of time to pause, rewind, and repeat segments that piqued my interest. Overall I loved the pacing and details wrapped inside this documentary, and as a journalist myself, I could understand Fine's style of questioning. But after awhile it seemed that this was less of a conversation between two friends and more of a "mobile interview" for the cameras. Granted, that had to be done to create the documentary and cue things up for clips, but when Brian reveals that he's often scared and that Fine's voice helps calm him down, you want Fine to reciprocate by letting down his guard and being more compassionate.

Nowhere was I waiting for this more than in the segment when Fine tells Brian that a mutual friend had died. Brian is at first shocked and, as the news sinks in, begins crying softly. Instead of pulling the car over, getting out, and asking Brian if he wants a hug so Brian can cry it out and process his emotions, the drive continues and the tone of the dialogue is as cold as if he had told him he'd found a quarter in the street. You feel Brian's pain as he is left grappling with the news on his own. It seemed to be the perfect place to forgot the roles of interviewer/subject and reveal some compassion for your friend. That's a feeling that lasts each time you see Brian -- you want to reach through the screen and give him a hug just to help alleviate his turmoil..

Aside from that indelible moment (and missed opportunity), Long Promised Road is a wonderful introduction into the life and mind of an extraordinarily resilient man. If there was a magic wand that could restore someone's mental health, Brian Wilson would be the perfect candidate. For all he's gone through and all he's given, he deserves it.

Different take on the interview process totally enjoyable ,music speaks for itself. Never tire of listening to his sounds. Seems like a special bond between the two of them.

This was the first time I've heard about Brian's life. In the past I was such a huge Beach Boys fan that I didn't want to know what went on behind the scenes. This doco was amazing to watch. I loved it.