family drama
directed
by : Joseph Greco featuring
: Joe Pantoliano - Marcia Gay Harden - Devon Gearhari - Sophia Bairley
- Paul Lasa running
time : 1 hour 40 minutesMental 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.
