Amal Brepotra Reviews 'Words on Bathroom Walls'
Image by Greg Rosenke from Unsplash
Words on Bathroom Walls is an emotional, heart-warming story following 18-year-old Adam who learns to cope with the unexpected absence of his father through cooking meals for himself and his heartbroken mother. Adam’s aspirations depend on him completing high school in order to get into culinary school, which he believes will be an easy task, until he’s met with a diagnosis that changes his life.
It begins with visual and auditory hallucinations, which in turn leads to the discovery that he has schizophrenia. And so, Adam must learn to handle the trials and tribulations of teenagerhood on top of a far-reaching dream and now, a mental health disorder that affects the normalcy of his somewhat-simple life. With the support of his mother and her new boyfriend, he attempts to find ways through the diagnosis, struggling relentlessly to seek his own identity.
There is much about this film that hits close to home for many people as depictions of what it’s really like to live with schizophrenia come to surface. It’s always a risky route to take when directors choose to create films that heavily portray mental health disorders. There’s the high likelihood that it will end up being a complete failure, offending a wide group of people and adding on to the already ever-present stigma surrounding mental illness. However, Thor Freudenthal is excellent in his representation of the illness that so many struggle with. It’s common to hear about teenagers suffering with depression and anxiety disorders, but there’s a rare showing of young people’s experiences with schizophrenia. Freudenthal’s movie certainly changes the stereotypical perception of it.
Along with the much-needed representation, the film explores the relief that cooking has on Adam. First, as a coping mechanism for his father up and leaving out of the blue, and then as an actual hobby-turned-passion that he realises is what he wants to pursue. There’s something liberating about watching him chop and boil and slice his way through the kitchen. Perhaps it’s the affect cooking has on most people, as a satisfying escape from our frantic reality. Adam finds solace in the culinary arts, which certainly adds a sense of uniqueness to the rest of the picture that primarily focuses on his illness.
Whilst the film was a little tedious in certain parts, there were a lot of graphic scenes that brought realism to the story. Some heavily depicted the darkness that the illness can bring and were even a little scary at points. Parts of his relationships with those around him were tense, adding to the suspense of it all but showing the kind nature of his loved ones as they help him through his journey.
Words on Bathroom Walls has evidently highlighted that it is, in fact, a good story to tell. It provides further insights into an illness that has been met with many negative responses as a result of misunderstanding. In this current climate, it is an impactful cinematic piece that will open eyes as well as hearts, revealing the true nature of severe mental health disorders.
Words by Amal Brepotra