and local health officials. We will continue to note the various ways readers can see each new film, including drive-in theaters in the Southland and VOD/streaming options when available.
It’s hard to categorize the big screen adaptation of “Words on Bathroom Walls,” Julia Walton’s novel about a teenager’s struggle with mental illness, as the film itself can’t decide if it’s a serious drama about an ill adolescent, a dark, edgy psychological romp, or an off-kilter rom-com. Written by Nick Naveda and directed by Thor Freudenthal, it takes some big swings at a big subject and almost — not quite — pulls it off.
That the film comes as close to succeeding as it does is in large part due to a top flight cast doing impressive work zipping between multiple tones — in some ways reflecting the disease at its center, schizophrenia. Naveda’s script and director Freudenthal make some bold choices, most of which work but have a cumulative effect that weakens the overall impact of the narrative.stars as Adam Petrazelli, a young man with a big secret.