bobbobwhite Sorry, could not get into this film as it was poorly told, and in its selection of the lead actor who portrayed the actual young artist. The kid in the lead was so not an artist type and showed it though very amateurish "acting" and "typical modern dude" body language. In addition, too many of the film's production values in the 20 minutes I watched were poorly and cheaply done..... The old artist's rickety front door in one closeup shot was obviously a prop as it's frame shook violently whenever the door closed.... The purposefully filthy car windows when the rest of the kid's car was clean..... The kid's odd gift to the old artist of a bottle of vodka when it was obvious he was not old enough to buy it..... The look and body language of a typical high school teenager of today was so incongruous with the true behavior and look of the type of boy in the early 70s who hungered and worked with all his soul to be a true and honest artist more than anything else in life. Details are crucial to an artist, but this filmmaker didn't care enough to honor that need for gravitas in his film. Plus out-of-place profanity, cliché characters and dialogue.......on and on. Not for me. This was not the well crafted film I expected about a dedicated young artist's search for soul-satisfying self expression. It was ordinary, unskilled and uninteresting.Cannot agree with the superlatives given by some of the other reviewers, as it seems to me they saw a different movie that the one I briefly watched. If a story of something I know a lot about cannot grab my attention and credibility in 20 or so minutes, no thanks.

snookie It is a feel-good movie based on a true story about a young wannabe artist who wants a forgotten Russian master's help and advice on how to be a great painter. The first five to ten minutes I was so happy with what Ray Liotta had to bring. However I didn't feel the same about Trevor Morgan. At times his acting was probably the only thing that bugged me about this movie, but it was good enough and it couldn't have possibly ruined the effect of the film. Then I found out the true gem of this picture - Armin Mueller-Stahl. Nicholi Seroff is probably one of the greatest characters I've ever seen in a feel-good movie. His acting made me feel like a real artist. Seeing him eat his breakfast with vodka while insulting John (Trevor Morgan) in one scene and then talking about true art with a pure heart and tears in his eyes was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had.Besides Mueller-Stahl there are lots of other influential performances, such as Perlman's cocky and kind of gay character (I was amazed, I never would've expected Ron Perlman to take such a role and he delivered it at 110%). Diana Scarwid's acting was so warm and relaxing and I think I fell for Samanta Mathis. Of course Ray Liotta's homophobic performance was hilarious. And I liked the whole idea of the movie which was basically a classical artist's view on the "crazy" modern world. It deals with one of the main problems in modern art, as Perlman's character puts it - does sentiment have a place in it? My only regret about this film is that it never got to the big screen in my country. My only hope is that some day I will be able to show this movie to my kids. So if you are an artist yourself or just an admirer - this is probably one of the best art movies you'll ever see. I give it 9/10 just because of Morgan :D

skysaxon I'm watching this now and I'm growing more impatient by the minute. Usually I like silence in movies but the pauses here within the dialog scream too loudly. Trevor Morgan's wretched performance doesn't help. Ray Liotta is saddled with an Archie Bunker stereotype that wears thin after his first scene. The actors have to constantly fight the inert direction. Not even Mueller-Stahl's solid work here can't save the film from grinding to a slow death. You can always predict the next scene. That's how clichéd it is (Karate Kid anyone). The stationary camera work is unimaginative and does nothing to evoke its subject matter.Saying all that, this movie delivers to the layman when it comes to lessons in art. The observations on art are basic but astute. There are some decent rules of thumb for anybody to take to a museum or simply when looking at the world. The complexity of shapes and colors in everyday life are explored here in the guise of painting. Ruining all this is a closed-mindedness towards abstract art that doesn't make sense. Painting abstract artists and those who appreciate it as morons and dilettantes contradicts the film's basic message of life as art.Better pacing, and better acting from the young actor, could have gone a long way to make this film work. For a film about colors and shapes, there is very little here to inspire or at which to marvel. Watch it only for Mueller-Stahl's performance and some minor lessons in how to look at the world.

accessisyours A must see film for people who love good true stories about following ones passions, Too bad that big studios are only about big $ and think that the public does not want to see good movies that don't have the shoot um up, kill, action. I believe people do want to watch movies that inspire people to follow their dreams. As a film maker myself I thank George and his Wife for not giving up. If you are lucky enough to have this film come to your town go see it and tell your friends to see it. Note The big studios said that no one wanted to see My Big Fat Greek Wedding, who was wrong about that. Not the public.Hang in there George.