Chattanooga FF: CANVAS: Sibling Rivalry as Revenge Art

EVE, a reclusive, wealthy and disgraced former child-prodigy artist, longs to repair the broken relationship with her sister, MARISSA, a successful yet currently insolvent painter. Largely estranged since their father’s suicide decades ago, Eve efforts to draw Marissa back in by announcing her plan to donate three highly valuable paintings to a meager small town museum, paintings that Marissa once owned and desperately wants back. When Marissa returns to their childhood home, in an attempt to retrieve the paintings, Eve believes there is hope to repair their relationship. But nothing is straightforward between sisters raised to believe great art can only be created by those who suffer

REVIEW:

Canvas is an emotional and psychological noir about the sibling rivalry between two sisters- one a financially successful artist, the other living in shuttered seclusion in the big manor house she inherited from her father. The recluse, Eve (Joanne Kelly) is a brilliant talented artist, known only locally. The other sister, Marissa (Bridget Regan) is world renown but an artistic fraud. Her success is entirely based on her usurping Eve’s art as her own, a secret that Eve will soon discover and confront Marissa with. That is if Marissa doesn’t have Eve committed first and have herself appointed as guardian over Eve. Add several paintings in the house from another famous artist worth scores of millions of dollars and let the skullduggery ensue.

Flashback shows how Marissa’s jealousy evolved and how she fooled Eve. Eve was her domineering father’s favorite who coddled her talent and dismissed Marissa’s as not worth even the effort. Marissa as an adult is cold and disillusioned, angry that their father granted Eve their family home in his will and ownership of every painting in it. There is some sympathy for Eve until her evil stratagems are deployed. Still, Eve is the true victim.

Canvas has the decency not to have a climatic cat fight. Eve’s comeuppance is just a slow strangle revenge that acts as the reveal for the mystery. It’s just as pleasing because it’s so total and wickedly delightful in its execution.

Bridget Regan is captivating to watch as the wounded, treacherous and vengeful Marissa. Regan plays her as a brutal broken force that threatens to consume everything. She will prove her self-worth even if it means taking away every bit of Eve’s own. Joanne Kelly as Eve has the more limited role. Kelly does manage to get sympathy for Eve, show her weakness as a possible strength. Too bad the script has her written out at the end. Then, you wouldn’t have the wonderful end that shows reveng is a thing best served postmortem.

Sadness and foreboding hang over every pigment of Canvas. Canvas gets a 3.5/5 or a B+. It’s being shown as a part of the Chattanooga Film Festival that runs virtually from June 21-28.

Chattanooga FF: CANVAS: Sibling Rivalry as Revenge Art

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