Canvas (2006)

75% of critics liked it
(28 reviews)
65% of users liked it
(492 ratings)

Mental illness stretches a loving family to the breaking point in this independent drama. Chris Marino (Devon Gearhart) is a ten-year-old boy growing up in a small oceanside community in Florida. Chris's father John (Joe Pantoliano) is a construction worker who is struggling to hold the family… More Mental illness stretches a loving family to the breaking point in this independent drama. Chris Marino (Devon Gearhart) is a ten-year-old boy growing up in a small oceanside community in Florida. Chris's father John (Joe Pantoliano) is a construction worker who is struggling to hold the family together under difficult circumstances -- his wife and Chris' mother, Mary (Marcia Gay Harden), has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and while they've been pursuing a variety of treatment options, Mary's condition continues to slowly deteriorate as she hears phantom sounds, has hallucinations, and becomes increasingly paranoid. While Joe tries to explain Mary's disease to Chris, her actions have turned her into an increasingly frightening and embarrassing stranger to her son, and Mary is clearly aware of the toll her condition has taken on the family but cannot help herself. After a violent incident results in a call from the police, Mary enters a mental hospital, and as Joe begins to buckle under the pressure of his circumstances, he quits his job and devotes all his spare time to building a sailboat, a project that reminds him of better days for Mary and himself. Canvas was the first feature film from writer and director Joseph Greco, who drew inspiration from the story of his mother, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was growing up. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Joseph Greco
Written By: Joseph Greco
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Oct 12, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Jan 29, 2008
Studio: Screen Media Films

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.
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.
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
I can see why it was a hit at film festivals. I only hope it now gets its due in theaters.
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...
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.
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 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

paul s

An intimate tale of mental illness and its effects on a family, Canvas has some holes, but the restrained performances of Pantalione and Gay-Harden kept me very interested. Harden was wonderful; one moment bubbling over with joy and then the next filled with uncertainty, showing her… More
An intimate tale of mental illness and its effects on a family, Canvas has some holes, but the restrained performances of Pantalione and Gay-Harden kept me very interested. Harden was wonderful; one moment bubbling over with joy and then the next filled with uncertainty, showing her to be very vulnerable and yet possessing an immense inner strength. The scene where she begs off an offer to go boating because she's suffered a bad episode the night before was powerful; down to the defeat in her voice, even as she was standing up to her problem. Pantalione suffers in silence for the most part, and is most telling when he finally breaks and yells at his son that all he wants is to get back the woman he married. Heartbreaking stuff. The ultimate reconcilliation between father and son is a bit formula, but how could it fail to be? Some of the supporting roles were well acted - the smarmy boss who had just enough alleged humanity to not appear a cardboard cut out, and the young girl who befriends the boy, from all the coy looks and then rushed peck on the cheek - all really felt natural and real.

Cast

Joe Pantoliano
as John Marino
Marcia Gay Harden
as Mary Marino
Devon Gearhart
as Chris Marino

See full cast

Canvas (2006)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

paul s

Cast