Adam, a senior in high school, has a mental breakdown in Chemistry class. While performing an experiment with his lab partner, he suddenly sees a black ghost-like figure enter the classroom. Understandably panicked and scared, Adam accidentally knocks down a glass beaker which leaves his lab partner with a chemical burn. As the class looks at him with a combination of pity and fear, he soon realizes: nothing was ever there. Soon after, Adam is diagnosed with Schizophrenia and asked to leave the school.
Words on Bathroom Walls makes the audience take a long walk in someone else’s shoes. Schizophrenia is a complex mental illness that many people don’t quite understand. This film forces us to consider what it might feel like if you can’t trust what you see or hear, and how that might impact the relationships you have and the relationships you want.
In Adam’s new private Catholic school, he meets a confident young lady who seems drawn to him and unbothered by his condition. But, it becomes increasingly clear that Adam’s greatest fear is the impossibility of leading a normal life and finding love, while trying to ignore the voices and visions no one else can see.
Why this movie matters
Schizophrenia tends to affect men and women equally, with no compelling difference between ethnic groups. However, symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions usually start between ages 16 and 30, and men experience symptoms earlier than women. So, why does that matter? This movie lets us feel what that is like.
Think about it, one day you are leading a normal life then you just start seeing and hearing things! Everyone tells you “it’s all in your head” but it is REAL to you. How will this change your life? How can you cope? How will you move forward?
The film also tackles more controversial issues like prescription drugs to cope with this mental illness, and other forms of treatment – which includes isolation and psychiatric facilities. We see that there isn’t an easy answer. Often choosing one treatment, while forfeiting the others may have consequences.
