He has a very distinctive personality, which includes a strong passion for cooking and ambitions to become a chef. In Words on Bathroom Walls,” Adam is not defined by his diagnosis, although it obviously causes a lot of changes in his life. Part of the goal in “Words on Bathroom Walls,” though, is to show schizophrenia (and mental illness in general) as something that real people are constantly living with and battling.

This is not a singular example - mental illnesses are often vilified and used as plot devices in horror films. Night Shyamalan’s “Split,” for example, was heavily criticized for its portrayal of dissociative identity disorder. Neither Adam nor schizophrenia is ever demonized, a rare find in the film industry. But director Thor Freudenthal (“Diary of a Wimpy Kid”) taps into something meaningful. If not for its compassionate portrayal of Adam, a romantic coming-of-age film centered around schizophrenia might not have worked. He tries to maintain a happy and carefree exterior as he becomes closer to Maya, but this effort gets increasingly difficult as his mental health grows worse and worse. There, he meets Maya (Taylor Russell, “Waves”), the high-achieving soon-to-be valedictorian who agrees to tutor Adam as he struggles to keep his grades up. After being expelled due to a psychotic break, Adam undergoes a medical trial to treat his illness and transfers to a new private high school. Of course there are 'Hollywood' touches and clichés but I recommend that you see it.Based on Julia Walton’s novel of the same name, “Words on Bathroom Walls” is a coming-of-age film about a high school senior named Adam (Charlie Plummer, “Looking for Alaska”) who is diagnosed with schizophrenia. I know from personal experience that this line is very true as a close personal friend suffering from mental illness said something eerily similar. And there is a quote (I'm paraphrasing) that really hit home for me: 'if I had cancer, people would run to help me but if I have mental illness they would run away'. It is not so clear with treating mental illness.

The problem with mental illness is that is so difficult to get measurable results - that is, if your BP is 145/90 and the doctor gives you a pill and is now 120/80 the pill is working. They also show the character being given different drugs that either fail or have terrible side effects. It is fairly realistic portrayal of mental illness and how difficult of a time care givers have dealing with the sufferer. No, it is not as maudlin as that sounds, it is very well acted by Charlie Plummer with a good supporting cast including Andy Garcia, Taylor Russell, and Beth Grant. This is a drama about a teenager diagnosed with schizophrenia and his efforts to hide it from a potential girlfriend.

Words on bathroom walls book review