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.