Ever so serendipitously, Tufts child development professor Richard Lerner and actor Joe Pantoliano, known by many as Cypher in "The Matrix" (1999), met last fall at a Penn State football game and discovered a common interest: the effects of mental illness on family units.
After learning more about the Tufts community, Pantoliano decided the university would be an ideal venue to host the first Boston screening of his new film "Canvas" (2006) this Sunday, Jan. 28 at 6 p.m. in Tufts' own Cohen Auditorium. The film, which he produced and stars in, concerns a family struggling with the shame and ridicule associated with mental illness.
In "Canvas," Pantoliano stars as John Marino, the father of an 11-year-old son, Chris (Devon Gearhart) and husband of Mary (Marcia Gay Harden), who suffers from schizophrenia. Through the eyes of the child, the film addresses the stigma associated with mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, highlighting widespread societal misconceptions of these illnesses.
During the film, Chris becomes the subject of ridicule in school due to his mother's condition. "If his parents had breast cancer, no one would make fun of him," Pantoliano said. "It is my aim to break stigmatization from mental illness. While working on the film I started to discover that people on the set all had brothers or sisters or mothers who were bipolar or schizophrenic."
The film also addresses the healing power of art. "[In the film] Mary's painting in the hospital helps the voices to leave her head and I [John Marino] decide to build a 24-foot sailboat in my driveway to rebuild my life. The film shows that there is a fine line between crazy and eccentric," Pantoliano said.
Along with many members of the cast and crew, the story of "Canvas" lies very close to the heart of writer/director Joe Greco. "'Canvas' is a personal story inspired by my own childhood, growing up with a mentally ill parent. It's amazing how much people are relating to it, even people without direct experience. It's about how a family deals with a problem, any sort of dysfunction, whether mental or otherwise," Greco said.
While the film deals with intensely emotional and serious issues, viewers shouldn't expect it to be depressing. "The biggest compliment that I've seen is that there was initially a great resistance to see it because people thought it would be a downer, but in reality it is so funny and hopeful, without making people believe there are magic pills out there to fix it," Pantoliano said.
As seen in the film, mental illness is extremely difficult to deal with due to the general lack of physical symptoms that patients experience, which allows victims to refuse treatment or deny the illness. As a low-income family, the Marino family struggles with insurance coverage for hospital treatment, addressing another prominent social problem concerning mental illness.
"[The film] really illustrates that there is not only a social stigma. We need to alert policy makers and HMOs," Lerner said.
Pantoliano said large support of the film is coming from pharmaceutical companies. "Awareness is what the health care community is looking for. Why is it OK to have erectile dysfunction and take a blue pill ... but it's not OK to let people know that if you are depressed or upset that there is something to help you get through the day, which is hard enough even if you're not crazy?" he said.
Lerner said, "Along with many other social issues, Joey (Pantoliano) is very interested in mental health issues and the stigmas associated. It's just like any other problem, it can be treated."
Throughout his career, Pantoliano has made it a goal to use his celebrity status to educate the public about various social issues.
Pantoliano was interested in Tufts' philanthropic qualities, intrigued by the amount of student and faculty involvement in global affairs and community service, including The Institute for Global Leadership's international endeavors and the Leonard Carmichael Society's vast array of local projects.
Pantoliano is co-president of the nonprofit organization Creative Coalition, which according to its Web site is dedicated to "bringing together artists and entertainers to learn about pressing issues so they can better inform and influence the community and nation."
"Composed of actors, directors, writers and musicians, we are the largest advocacy group in America representing celebrities," Pantoliano said. From this vantage point, Tufts' activism and community involvement was an excellent selling point for the film's screening.
"Tufts is a university committed to being civically engaged. We have the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, as well as involved students and faculty from the physics department to child development," Lerner said.
Two tickets for the screening are available per Tufts student with an ID. There will be a Q&A with Pantoliano and Greco following the showing. Pantoliano insists that everyone should "come and see this movie; I'll be willing to sign anything."
