Recipient of numerous film festival awards and praised by mental health experts for its authentic and humanistic portrayal of schizophrenia, Canvas is a modest film that is well worth watching, thanks to both its honesty and its graceful performances. Ten-year-old Chris (affable newcomer Devon Gearhart) just wants his mom (a heartbreaking Marcia Gay Harden), who suffers from delusional paranoia and explosive mood swings, to be normal and not all “weird.” Unfortunately for Chris, life becomes much worse when his mother is forced by police to enter a mental hospital and the boy is left alone with his father (Joe Pantoliano), who can barely handle his own grief, never mind his son's. Writer-director Joseph Greco based this family tale on his own childhood, which perhaps accounts for the brutal ring of truth that lies under its gentle and unpretentious surface. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by Greco, a “making-of” featurette, and a Q&A with Pantoliano and Greco. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a fine film.] (M. Johanson)
Canvas
Screen Media, 100 min., PG-13, DVD: $27.98 Volume 23, Issue 3
Canvas
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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