Words on Bathroom Walls (2020), directed by Thor Freudenthal

Adam is in his final year of high school and aiming to attend catering college and become a chef. Cooking has been the only thing that calms his increasingly troubled mind, but he’s fighting a losing battle and winds up with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. A new drug trial and a new school offer a final chance at ‘normality’, but the side affects stop him cooking so he faces an impossible choice. This film is an extraordinary achievement in portraying the reality of schizophrenia and dealing with mental illness. It is credible, funny and heartbreaking. The interesting technique of Adam addressing the camera as his psychiatrist, whom the audience never sees, allows a great deal of exposition and for the most part works well. The embodiment of the voices in Adam’s head gives true insight into the conflicting chaos he deals with. Charlie Plummer is astoundingly good as Adam, evoking a young James Spader or Paul Dano. The solid supporting cast includes Molly Parker as Adam’s loving and supporting mother, Taylor Russell as his confident prospective girlfriend and Andy Garcia in a surprising cameo as a helpful priest. This is a brave film, tackling a challenging subject in a sensitive manner that can only assist wider understanding. The only quibble is a slightly saccharine ending that is out of sync with the bulk of the film, but it would have been very hard to create a genuine ending that wasn’t a complete downer. The Chainsmokers’ soundtrack is a good fit.

Utopia Avenue, by David Mitchell

The story of an unlikely fledgling rock group in the late 60s, this is an extraordinarily detailed tale of rise and fall, with promising careers cut short by tragedy. Aspiring manager Levon brings together impoverished working class bassist Dave, ethereal guitar virtuoso Jasper, jazzy northern drummer Griff and folky keyboard player Elf. Each chapter is named for one of the band’s songs and is mostly told from the point of view of the writer of the song, which means Griff and Levon get less airtime than the three songwriters. The characters are interesting and the way their lives inform the songs is depicted well, although providing full song lyrics is unnecessary excess. The band has lots of encounters with other performers and artists inhabiting swinging London – Pink Floyd, Steve Winwood, David Bowie, Francis Bacon, John Lennon, Brian Jones. Was it really such a small scene that they all ran into each other? Maybe, but it doesn’t read as believable, particularly Bowie. Mitchell allows himself more onanistic touches, referencing his previous novels and introducing a bizarre element of magical realism that links to one in particular. There is a lot of exposition, declamation and clunky dialogue used to set the scene and explain context. The result is a sprawling, self-indulgent mess of a novel that could have used a good edit.

Misbehaviour (2020), directed by Philippa Lowthorpe

In 1970 the women’s movement for equality was just getting rolling and the anachronistic Miss World beauty pageant became a target as a symbol of a patriarchal system that marginalises women. Misbehaviour spotlights ordinary women who got involved in the fight, including mature student and single mother Sally Alexander and activist Jo Robinson. Played by Keira Knightly and Jessie Buckley, these women form the warm heart of a disparate and diverse group. Although articulate on the campaign and its aim, the film is not just polemic. It skewers the shockingly sexist and misogynistic attitudes prevalent at the time, simply by presenting them, but it also shows the human face of all involved. This includes hopeful contestants, immensely popular dinosaur comedian Bob Hope and Sally’s mum. The film promotes the effectiveness of protest and activism, claiming apartheid protests helped force changes to Miss World and that the Women’s Liberation protest helped put the movement on the map. It underlines the power of intersectionality to create a sum greater than its parts. It's also funny. Gugu Mbatha-Raw is moving as eventual pageant winner Miss Guatemala, eloquently making the case for the limited opportunities afforded to black women in particular. Greg Kinnear looks good as Bob Hope, but his accent often slips; Lesley Manville is excellent as always in a cameo as Delores Hope. It’s a really nice touch at the end to see brief images and bios of several of the real people portrayed in the film – real women who achieved real goals.

Writers and Lovers, by Lily King

Casey is an aspiring writer, crippled by student debt and grieving the sudden death of her beloved mother. She has been working on a novel for six years and at 31 is facing the question of how long she can maintain her commitment to the creative life. She also faces a choice between two very different romantic possibilities, which kind of echoes her economic dilemma. Will she take the path of risk or stability? Of heart, head or gut? Will past mistakes and experiences influence her decision? This deceptively simple tale of a young woman at a crossroads is easy to read and hard to put down. Casey is a fully realised, complex and endearing protagonist, with admirable principles, debilitating anxiety, a damaging family history and great supportive friends. King makes some gently interesting points along the way about the differences in the treatment and expectations of male and female writers. She also highlights the casual everyday sexism and harassment endured by women, especially in hospitality. This is an absorbing and satisfying read that prompts investigation of the author’s other work.

Record of a Spaceborn Few, by Becky Chambers

The Exodan Fleet of homestead spaceships departed a wrecked planet Earth many centuries ago. Since acceptance by other species into the Galactic Commons the fleet has orbited a sun as a kind of giant space station nation. The ageing fleet has some maintenance issues and its population is slowly depleting as young people leave for new lives and opportunities in the GC colony planets and moons. The Exodan tale is told through the experiences of several of its inhabitants – mother of two Tess, archivist Isabel, teenage rebel Kip, immigrant Sawyer and caretaker of the dead Eyas. There is also an outside perspective from an alien visitor. The final in Becky Chambers’ space saga trilogy has only a tenuous direct link to the first two, although clearly in the same universe. Tess is the sister of Ashby, the captain of the mining ship at the centre of the first novel. The action is disjointed through most of the novel, the disparate voices painting an engaging picture of Exodan history and culture but providing little in the way of plot. A tragedy brings some of the characters together and overlaps their stories, pointing the way to the future for Exodans. It’s a little sad to farewell this fascinating universe, but this story is a fitting way to do so.

Brazen Hussies (2020), directed by Catherine Dwyer

Students of history and feminism may think they have a good handle on the rise of the women’s movement in Australia. While Brazen Hussies hits some familiar notes and shows a few well-known faces, it also takes a deep dive into all aspects of the movement for change in the key decade of 1965 to 1975. Small actions and consciousness-raising grew into mass protests and political action, with women united by anger and a determination to achieve equality. Contemporary interviews with a huge variety of activist women are bolstered by archival footage of these same women and their contemporaries. Equal pay, discrimination, reproductive rights, sexual harassment and domestic violence – great strides were made on these and many other issues after the Whitlam government was elected in 1972, based on the work done by the women’s movement and its allies. But 50 years later all these issues are still live concerns for women and the progress made cannot be taken for granted. The documentary doesn’t flinch from depicting the conflict and disagreements that were inevitable within such a broad-based movement. Ultimately it was a victim of its own success, with groupings such as lesbian separatists, aboriginal activists and the Women’s Electoral Lobby inevitably having different goals and methods. Through the ages the men who write it have often obliterated women’s history. This film underlines the importance of acknowledging and building on the work done by previous generations to secure the gains women have made and keep moving towards equality.