Words on Bathroom Walls Is Full of Unique Wonder

Words on Bathroom Walls, based on the book by Julia Walton, is admirable in wanting to tackle schizophrenia in a teen romance. Most books and films that feature teens with disabilities and medical conditions tend to favor the tragic and the physical, most notably in films as The Fault in Our Stars and Five Feet Apart. In some ways, director Thor Freudenthal takes a bit of an easy route in using the visual allure of a superhero movie to depict the anguish and chaos of a mind. But despite the wild tonal shifts and special effects, there’s some surprising sincerity present in his dealing with a tough subject.

Taylor Russell as Maya and Charlie Plummer as Adam in Words on Bathroom Walls. Jacob Yakob/Courtesy of LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions

Adam (Charlie Plummer), a teen diagnosed with schizophrenia, gives us the predictable rundown of his life so far, posed with mild intrigue from the staging of him speaking to a therapist. He lets us know about how his dad left him and he had to cook for his mother, leading to his interest in the kitchen. He gives us the info on his mental landscape, where an evil voice haunts his waking hours, coming about in the form of darkness. Adam has thus assembled an ensemble of enforcers and inspirations to keep the darkness at bay, though only going so far as to warn him when to run. These warnings often don’t work, and situations usually end with him causing a scene.

His life takes a turn, however, when he is shifted toward a Catholic school, and two major changes cause the voices to grow quieter with each day. The medical reason is that he’s taking a new prescription that is finally yielding results. The more emotional reason would be his attraction to the determined and resourceful Maya (Taylor Russell). Their relationship takes off after she takes a bite of his self-made lunch, which is so good she’s willing to relent in her usual attitude and declare it “not bad.” Perhaps a romance will form just in time for the prom.

Adam with Father Patrick (Andy Garcia). Jacob Yakob/Courtesy of LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions

As distracting as Adam’s mental visions appear, his plight does involve some relatable drama and even some sincere subversion. He distrusts his family and believes his stepdad may be trying to sabotage him—the audience may be expecting it as well, considering the stepdad is played by Walton Goggins, an actor who specializes in villains most devious. As the story progresses, however, Adam learns the hard way that some things may not be quite how he sees them. The character is one that could have easily dissolved into melodrama, but Plummer’s performance manages to come across as quite moving.

Unfortunately, these moments of humanity are somewhat hampered by the fantastical elements of Adam’s visions. His worst appear as something out of a paranormal horror film, with glass whirling in the air around a science class. There are even moments when his interactions with his imagination are treated as more quirky than concerning, which creates a very off tone when he witnesses the principal’s office catch fire, trying to ignore and answering questions about his condition with “I’m all fired up.”

Still, there’s a certain sensitive allure to the picture, which never feels as though it’s trying to sensationalize schizophrenia, even as wild a depiction as it serves. It always feels as though characters are coming from a genuine place and have depth beyond the snob girl whose heart is melted or the parents who just don’t understand. In what is becoming a familiar norm of these coming-of-age movies, Adam makes the discovery of why Maya is so standoffish and lies about her life, finding more in common with her in the process. But there’s perhaps a bit of wish fulfillment in the ending and Adam’s openness about his condition leading to a grand gesture.

Adam’s mental defenders (played by Lobo Sebastian, AnnaSophia Robb, and Devon Bostick). Jacob Yakob/Courtesy of LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions

There are many areas where the premise of Worlds on Bathroom Walls could fall to pieces, and yet, for a film that wants to balance emotional secrets and surreal nightmares, it somewhat works. The flow of Adam’s many moods always feels engaging, the visions never getting too silly or the melodrama too hokey. There are also a few surprises here and there, as with the camera taking some tilted and uneasy angles when Adam feels the weight of the world around him. It’s enough to make this picture stand out from the rest of its subgenre, if for nothing else than for attempting to tackle an exceptionally difficult subject to place on the screen.

How accurate this film is to showcase the inner struggle of schizophrenia I cannot say, though Freudenthal does seem to have made a good-faith effort to be sensitive and realistic based on what he’s said about the film’s development. But I can say it presents a strong story of characters who operate on levels beyond mere pity and rebellion. Few films of this nature feel as whole.