This review will focus on each film individually and bounce them against each other. A paradox, I know, but consider it a quantum mechanical review: depending on whether you think the review is evaluating each film individually or together, the review will collapse into that state. (N.B: To disregard a bias issue it is important to note that I love both of these artist, and have done for a long time.)

I believe Love & Mercy is a better biopic than Straight Outta Compton for numerous reasons, namely that Love & Mercy uses the medium of film to tell a story in a more interesting and engaging manner. Director Bill Pohlad sums it up in a recent interview:

"I think the problem with biopics is that often they are trying to hit so many different beats in a person’s life. In a true story, they’re required to do that, it seems like, and it distances you from the character. I was more interested in getting a deeper look at Brian, a more intimate look at Brian, and trying to connect with how he was feeling and what he went through. It’s just harder to do that when you’re forced to hit all those beats in somebody’s life. So, I definitely didn’t want to do that."

Straight Outta Compton deals with the history of N.W.A in a purely linear manner - following the artists from boys to men, a rise and "fall" story. This is how most biopics work, and this is what makes them so bland due to a lack of intimacy. On the other hand, Straight Outta Compton stressed the importance of N.W.A on society, forcing the film to have a wider scope, which is perfectly understandable. However, the film felt far too polished and glossy to have any hard-hitting societal impacts on the audience - which is a shame, seeing as it's what the legacy of N.W.A deserves.

The feel-good moments feel good, and the feel-bad moments feel bad, but that's about it. Young Snoop Dogg and young Tupac give an energetic vibration to the period in the film, and the actors look and sound the part. The acting in general is of extremely high quality - O'Shea Jackson Jr., Jason Mitchell and Corey Hawkins have a bright acting future ahead of them.

The acting, of course, brings us to the Paul Giamatti Connection. Somehow, in both films he plays a not-so-nice figurehead in the lives of the artists - however, both characters are interesting as they are not necessarily through and through antagonists. Eugene Landy is more clean-cut as a "monster", however, his extreme methods did produce results - whether those results were positive or negative is altogether a different matter.

Love & Mercy has just as incredibly accurate casting - all of the Beach Boys look identical to the originals in their heyday. Jake Abel is a dead ringer for Mike Love, as well as Brett Davern for Carl Wilson. Paul Dano gives an incredible performance as a young Brian Wilson. The gained weight, his facial expressions as well as movements prove that Dano is not only a master of emotions, but brilliant at physical performances, occupying space the way his character would. The same goes for John Cusack, in his best role to date. John Cusack is one of those Hollywood actors who has been in several films, yet I never remember the name of his character, because he always is, well, John Cusack. As an older Brian Wilson, Cusack takes on Wilson's skin and adopts his distinct facial tics while respectfully and powerfully portraying a mind at war with itself.

Some reviews that I have read have claimed that the film didn't work because of this dual-actor "gimmick" - that they couldn't get over the fact that Paul Dano and John Cusack didn't look like each other. To fully enjoy films, I think you need a certain naïveté, a willingness to suspend disbelief. The difference emphasised time and emphasised change - a person is completely different in 20 years.

Stylistically, Love & Mercy is superior to Straight Outta Compton because it actually has a unique style. Straight Outta Compton is shot by Matthew Libatique, a great cinematographer who, in this film, takes no chances and creates the same polished look all Hollywood biopics have. In Love & Mercy, the brilliant Robert Yeoman steps out of his comfort zone and simulates archival footage, gives a documentary feel to the studio sessions with a fly-on-the-wall vibe and matches movement to tone.

Essentially, Straight Outta Compton is one of the best biopics of it's kind - that is to say, one of the best, big studio-produced, generic and linear biopics.

Love & Mercy is one of the best biopics, period. It uses the visual language of cinema to create an empathic interpretation of key moments in the life of a respected artist, without falling into the clichéd traps of the biopic genre.