Words on Bathroom Walls: A summary? Review? Call it whatever you want

The movie began with Adam Petrazelli getting an eye scan because his mum thought he had glaucoma. His family was going through a lot and his father bailed on them, so he and his mum had to adjust to having only each other. It started out with only auditory hallucinations, till it got worse and the visual kind started creeping in. He soon realized that for him, cooking kept his head clear, so he’d cook as much as he could. His mum started dating again, but he didn’t like Paul. He felt Paul was putting a wedge between he and his mother, so he was hostile to him. They didn’t know what was wrong with him, till he was taken to the hospital after his first psychotic break occurred in a chemistry class. He unintentionally poured a strong acid on his lab partner in the heat of the moment and had to leave school to go to the hospital. There, they diagnose him with schizophrenia; a mental disorder with no cure. His mother, like all other mothers, did not want to give up hope. From one hospital to another, one drug to another, but nothing worked.

Schizophrenia is a psychopathology that involves chemical imbalance in the brain, causing an individual to have auditory and visual hallucinations ie hearing and seeing things that aren’t there, delusions, constant distraction from reality, etc. Its causes are not known, but biological and environmental factors could predispose to schizophrenia. Though there is no cure, there are drugs meant to help stabilize the person to a considerable extent. There are 5 types:
1. Paranoid schizophrenia(which is what I think Adam had)
2. Catatonic schizophrenia
3. Hebephrenic or disorganized schizophrenia
4. Residual schizophrenia
5. Undifferentiated schizophrenia.
I won’t bore you with the details though schizophrenia is actually quite interesting to read on. So if you want to know more, do a little research.

His hallucinations got to a point, they materialised into people; a girl named Rebecca, a dude named Joaquin and a bodyguard and his henchmen. They were always there, never leaving no matter what drug he took, but they were nice enough for the most part. The sinister one came out of dark places to tell him hateful things like how his mother regrets having him, how he’s ruining her life, etc, so he kept away from the dark. He got admission at a Catholic school on the conditions that he maintain a 3.5gpa and scores over 90% on the benchmark exam. His issue was kept confidential to avoid bullying or stigmatization. There he met Maia, most intelligent student, valedictorian, student body president, etc. Her portfolio is long, lol. Anyway, they met in the boy’s bathroom where he saw her exchanging a parcel with some dude for money. At first, he thought she was the school drug dealer till she cleared that up. Apparently, she writes academic papers(homework, projects, etc.) for other students and they pay her. We find out later that she does this because her family is struggling and she provides for them. But it’s not allowed, so she does it in secret.

He was failing in school anyway, so he asked her to tutor him. She refused at first, but eventually agreed when his mum offered payment. They became friends and he’d cook for her everytime they met(that’s husband material right there, lol). As pertains to the Catholic doctrine, they had to go for confession at the end of the week, but Adam didn’t believe in God, so his conversations with the priest were quite funny. I think the priest too enjoyed his company.
Rebecca tried to convince him to tell Maia he’s schizophrenic, but he got scared she’ll leave him if she knew, so he segued into asking her to prom instead.

He stopped taking his drugs because of the crazy side effects and this triggered a worse psychotic break than the last one. He went to prom despite being suspended from school, caused havoc and jumped from the building. Had to be rushed to the hospital, thrashing limbs and all. Schizophrenia isn’t pretty, man. He told Maia to stay away from him and told his mum and stepdad to get out. He was crazy and he didn’t want to see any of them, he said.

The thing about schizophrenia is it makes the person paranoid, makes them feel like someone/people are always out to get them. This person for him was Paul. When he was expelled from the Catholic school, he blamed Paul for taking his mum away and sending a letter to his school to expel him, thus ruining his life. The part that made me emotional was when his mum gave him the actual letter Paul wrote to the school. Bruhh, I cried a little, lol. And the movie is from Adam’s point of view, so Paul was portrayed as the villain till that part. He didn’t realise just how much Paul actually cared for him till that letter. Won’t tell you what was written in the letter or the rest of the movie because I’d just be spoiling the best part, so go see it if you’re curious amigo.

The acting is well carried out, Plummer really did well. The movie tried in its entirety to portray the lives of people who live with schizophrenia and what their family go through. It also helps with enlightenment. Shows people with schizophrenia should not be stigmatized, they are people like us and deserve love and care as well.