Critic Reviews

• Jason Anderson, Toronto Star

  Though Canvas may not deviate much from the formula followed by so many other movies about families imperiled by health crises, it's unusually perceptive about the ways that loved ones process (or fail to process) the resulting stress.

• Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

  It's like a public service announcement with dialogue.

• Stephen Garrett, Time Out New York

  A pair of well-shaded performances by Joe Pantoliano and Marcia Gay Harden dignifies a sincere but innocuous look at a blue-collar husband's struggle with his wife's schizophrenia.

• Rex Reed, New York Observer

  Writer-director Joseph Greco makes a nice feature-film debut telling a true, disturbing story about a 10-year-old boy struggling to cope with a schizophrenic mother.

• , Los Angeles Times

  Canvas just doesn't sketch a sufficiently vivid portrait.

• Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic

  Canvas is worth seeing for the acting, but the disease-of-the-week conventions and hackneyed visuals pretty well knock the wind out of its sails.

• John Griffin, Montreal Gazette

  It's worth hanging on for where Greco goes with this.

• Chris Alexander, Metro

  Movies don't come more personal than Canvas, writer/director/co-producer Joseph Greco's serious-minded exploration of the devastating effects unleashed by mental illness upon an otherwise tightly knit American family.

• Bruce Kirkland, Jam! Movies

  There is something to be said for a filmmaker like Greco who takes the truth -- no matter how tough it is -- and turns it into a compelling drama about people we might know in life.

• Chad Greene, Boxoffice Magazine

  [A] strong first feature.

• MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher

  [A] must-see for its honesty and its fine, graceful performances...

• Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile

  If it weren't for the terrific performances, Canvas would be a dull and lifeless film; Marcia Gay Harden explores the schizophrenic character of Mary with a judicial technique that is both compassionate and credible.

• Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide

  Greco succeeds where many others have failed in giving a real sense of what it is to grow up with a parent who's hobbled by mental illness.

• Pam Grady, Reel.com

  Greco takes his biggest risk, perhaps, when he puts that boat in water with father and son manning the sails. It could be a mawkish scene that sinks everything that came before it, but like the watercraft that symbolizes so much, the movie remains afloat.

Read all 14 critic reviews