Aira Jane V.

Limboc
BSED MT 4-1D

CANVAS: A MOVIE WITH MANY DIMENSIONS

The movie Canvas was produced to help the general public to understand what it is
like to have a family member who is suffering from a serious mental illness called
schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects
how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. People with schizophrenia may seem like
they have lost touch with reality. Although schizophrenia is not as common as other
mental disorders, the symptoms can be very disabling.The portrayal of
schizophrenia in the film has been praised by mental health experts as unusually
accurate and sympathetic; the story of the boy and his dad is a portrait of love
under enormous stress.
Writer-director Joseph Greco says the film, his first feature, was influenced by his own
childhood with a schizophrenic mother. Even the father's determination to build a
sailboat comes from Greco's own life. His film benefits from persuasive, moving
performances from all three leads: Joe Pantoliano as John Marino, a construction
worker; Marcia Gay Harden as Mary, his wife, and Devon Gearhart as their young son,
Chris. There is also an affecting performance by Sophia Bairley as Dawn, a
schoolmate who becomes Chris's friend and confidant.
As the film opens, Mary is just a little too demonstrative in her love for Chris, who
she possibly hasn't seen for a while. That night Chris is awakened by flashing blue
lights through the window; his mother has had a panic attack and his father and the
police are bringing her back to the house. She is under medication, which doesn't
seem to be working, and on another night, when she runs wild through a rainstorm,
the police handcuff her "for her own safety," and she is committed to an asylum.All
of this is very hard on Chris, as cruel schoolmates taunt him about his crazy mother.
When his father, desperate for distraction, begins to build a sailboat in the
driveway, Chris begins to hear that his dad is crazy, too. He is a wise, solemn kid,
but it all begins to get to him, especially when his mother inappropriately crashes
his precious birthday party for a few friends in a local arcade.
He loves his son, but isn't always perceptive enough of his needs. He spends money
on the boat that he doesn't have. He has worked hard for 20 years and has a boss
who isn't fair with him. Pantoliano brings to all of these dimensions a confidence and
understanding that is a revelation; how many other actors are trapped by
typecasting and have such unexplored regions within their talent?
Marcia Gay Harden finds a fine balance between madness and the temptations of
overacting. Yes, she runs wild sometimes, but always as a human being, not as a
caricature. And as the son, Devon Gearhart, who is at the center of many of the
crucial scenes, has an unaffected and natural sincerity that is effective and

convincing. I have noticed recently several performances by children that have a

simplicity and grace that adults can only envy.
The film's ending may be more upbeat than the characters could hope for in real
life, but it doesn't cave in to neat solutions. One scene in particular looks like a
manufactured happy ending until the camera pulls back and provides a context for
it. "Canvas" is a heartwarmer, as I said, a touching story of these people for whom
the only response to mental illness is love.
If Canvas tries much too hard to soften the Marinos anguish by emphasizing the
father and sons creativity and resilience, a tougher, more realistic movie would
probably be close to unbearably painful. Below the films sugar coating is an inner
core of integrity and goodness. All three Marinos are noble everyday people visited
by horror. Think of Canvas as a Lifetime movie: a likable one.