Words on Bathroom Walls

"If you can't trust your mind, trust your heart."

2020 1h 51m EN

🙌

7.8

BANGER

★7.8TMDB · 673

DramaRomance

Synopsis

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Diagnosed with a mental illness halfway through his senior year of high school, a witty, introspective teen struggles to keep it a secret while falling in love with a brilliant classmate who inspires him to open his heart and not be defined by his condition.

“If you can't trust your mind, trust your heart.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Charlie Plummer
Adam
Molly Parker
Beth
Walton Goggins
Paul
Andy Garcia
Father Patrick
Taylor Russell
Maya
AnnaSophia Robb
Rebecca
Beth Grant
Sister Catherine
Devon Bostick
Joaquin

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Thor Freudenthal
Writers: Nick Naveda
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 39% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 6 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CAST

Did you know

267+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Thor Freudenthal, shot by Michael Goi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Drew Taggart. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter McNulty shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Charlie Plummer and Molly Parker and Walton Goggins carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "If you can't trust your mind, trust your heart.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Thor Freudenthal directs. Michael Goi behind the camera. Drew Taggart scores. Peter McNulty cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 39% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 6 years ago.
3267+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
4Directed by Thor Freudenthal, shot by Michael Goi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Drew Taggart. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Peter McNulty shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Charlie Plummer and Molly Parker and Walton Goggins carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "If you can't trust your mind, trust your heart.".
9IMDB entry: tt8045906 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 15 themes, including "high school", "schizophrenia", "narration", "cooking".

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Goi
Original score: Drew Taggart
Editing: Peter McNulty
Production design: Brian Stultz
Costume design: Mona May
Makeup / hair: Lynette Rimmer
VFX supervisor: Chris LeDoux
Sound: Elliott Koretz
Stunt coordinator: G. Peter King
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.78:1 (16:9)
Status: Released
Budget: $8,000,000
Box office: $3,151,849
Return: 39% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Words on Bathroom Walls (2020)

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Thor Freudenthal

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Community reviews

What people are saying

SWITCH.2020-12-01
★ 8/10
'Words on Bathroom Walls' succeeds by leaning on teen romance tropes to make schizophrenia a digestible topic, thanks to its fantastic cast and engaging narrative. While it's not to be viewed as the defining film on the topic, it's a great jumping-off point to launch a conversation, while being another great teen film about being okay to be different. - Chris dos Santos Read Chris' full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-words-on-bathroom-walls-normalising-schizophrenia-for-the-main-stream
CinemaSerf2025-02-21
★ 7/10
It can be very risky to try to encapsulate schizophrenia into a drama at the best of times, but to try and present it in a teen-friendly way adds an extra dimension to that challenge and that is really quite well handled by Charlie Plummer here. “Adam” lives with his mum on their own after his dad went awol. She (AnnaSophia Robb) already has to deal with having a teenage son, and reconcile that with her new boyfriend “Paul” (Walton Coggins) just as he starts to succumb to voices in his head, to hallucinations and to behavioural difficulties. They manifest themselves on screen to us as something akin to pixies on his shoulder. These characterisations act as powerfully conflicting visual aides assisting us to begin to slightly comprehend just how his thought processes are being cluttersed and confused by differing inputs that play to his natural insecurities as a teenage boy trying to keep his head above the water. Meantime, the other tributary to this story sees “Maya” (Taylor Russell) quite successfully running a sideline selling school assignment services to those who can’t or won’t do the work themselves. When “Adam” accidentally discovers her activities they start to bond a little and perhaps this can give him enough confidence to address his increasingly disabling condition. It’s emotionally constructed, this drama, and the performances go some way to giving us a beginner’s guide to the sheer trauma for everyone involved when parts of our brain start to malfunction. The use of some simple, vaguely menacing, visual effects help create a sense of the fogginess and confusion this young man faces as he sees, or perceived, his opportunities begin to fade away. This lad wants to be a chef, and can concoct a mean Hollandaise! Sure, it cuts corners and I’m sure plenty of people will find the whole underlying philosophy cheesy and sentimentally simplistic, but as an introduction to one of the last remains taboos for most of us, it serves it’s purpose effectively and invites us to be just a little more aware.