Adam Petrazelli (Charlie Plummer) is a teenager struggling with his mental health.
Kicked out of school, and dealing with a new stepdad, Adam has a lot to deal with.
Adam is sent to a Catholic school where he meets the school’s valedictorian Maya Arnez (Taylor Russell).
As their bond grows, Adam is wrestling with whether to tell Maya about his mental health…
The moment in Words on Bathroom Walls that won me over is during the confrontation between Adam and Maya with the bullies from his previous school.
The main antagonist grabs Maya; she shoves him away and tells him not to touch her.
He then charges them.
It feels like it is setting up for another fight. sequence or a beat down.
But instead, as he reaches Adam, Maya shoots out of nowhere and decks him full force across the jaw.
She reiterates that he should leave her alone.
And then they run away.
It is a neat spin on a cliche and it sold the movie for me.
Words on Bathroom Walls was released in the middle of 2020, and I only heard about it recently. Hopefully it gets a bigger audience now because it is a really good movie.
The older I get, the more I am won over by movies where characters show genuine empathy and care for one another.
I also like romance movies where both characters feel like they are on their own trajectories (ideally that should be the case but…).
I am no expert on mental health or neurodivergence so I cannot speak to the film’s portrayal of schizophrenia.
What I can speak on, and what Words on Bathroom Walls does get, is the way a diagnosis can become a target on your back.
While there are personal benefits to gaining more knowledge about yourself, it can also become a box that you get put in.
What I immediately reacted to was how the movie focused on that stigma, and the ripple effects it can have on your mental state. Adam’s paranoia about people (especially Maya) finding out is a real source of tension. It never feels like a contrived attempt at conflict.
While the movie is a romance, it does not sacrifice other aspects of the main characters.
Most of the movie is based around Adam’s relationship with his mother (Molly Parker) and new step father (Walton Goggins).
And while Adam is the central character, Maya is not treated as a romantic object. She is on her journey, with her own goals and struggles.
This movie chooses to realise Adam’s symptoms through visual effects and actors playing various personae. This element could have been schlocky but the movie deploys these elements at dramatically appropriate moments so they do not come off as visual excess.
The same goes for the to-camera sequences, in which Adam addresses the viewer. These scenes provide an opportunity for the character’s perspective front and centre.
Frankly, I put my initial dismissal of the movie’s style down to the young adult genre, and a general suspicion of the way disabilities have been used in Hollywood movies.
On a second viewing, I think part of the issue is the score by the Chainsmokers - it hits the emotional beats a bit too hard.
The cast are good across the board - including a piece of casting against-type that pays off in one of the film’s best reveals.
My only prior experience with Charlie Plummer is his role All The Money In The World.
He is a solid centre to the movie. Commendably, he avoids burdening the character with physical tics or other affectations.
Taylor Russell has played characters defined by their intelligence but both Lost in Space and Escape Room felt like they were resting on that. She gets more definition and depth here.
Maya is also a character introduced by her learning abilities, but this role gives her so much more to do.
She is not an archetype - she brings a pragmatism, insecurity and empathy that make Maya more fleshed out.
I get the sense that Russell is unafraid to play someone who can come off as abrasive or unlikeable. I hope she continues in that vein because she brings a bluntness to Maya that was compelling - particularly in a movie that is ultimately a romance.
Not in the sense that I hoped she would change, but because it felt like that aspect of her character was contextualized rather than neutered.
There are a few moments that work against the movie - there are certain scenes where the personae are treated like supporting players with individual shots and reactions that break from Adam’s POV.
There is also some obvious symbolism - the theme for prom is the painting ‘Starry Starry Night’.
And during Adam’s final crisis, he is framed in a long shot against a painted backdrop resembling Van Gogh’s (another artist associated with mental health) painting.
But these are minor quibbles.
There are so many elements which this movie could have got wrong, but it does not.
The visual effect elements could have been exploitive, but they end up being the most overt sign of the movie’s focus on the central character.
While those effects were part of the marketing, the film is not as interested in Adam’s diagnosis as it is Adam the person.
This focus is the key to the film’s success - Adam is not a diagnosis. He is a person with interests, hopes and dreams, just like anyone else.
So many romantic dramas use a character’s impairment (especially physical disabilities) as a dramatic crutch - a set up for tragedy or a catalyst for another character to become a better person.
It may be a little obvious in aspects of its execution, but Words on Bathroom Walls succeeds because it never loses sight of Adam’s humanity.
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