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All Your Dark and Twisty Places

The film Words on Bathroom Walls tells the story of Adam, a witty, introspective teen diagnosed with a mental illness during his senior year of high school. After experiencing a psychotic break at his school, his parents relocate him for a fresh start to St Agatha’s, a private Catholic school. In their first meeting, when the headmaster inquires if he is ready to join St. Agatha’s. Adam answers, "The only person that can’t reject you is Jesus, right?”

As he struggles to keep his illness a secret, Adam asks Father Patrick about the reason for confession. He responds, "Actually, telling someone our sins gives us the opportunity to admit we are flawed . . . Everyone is flawed. But admitting our flaws, that gives us the opportunity and the strength to face them. And that’s why we confess.”

At the end of the film, after discovering his need to depend on others, Adam shares, “As for honesty . . . you have to let people discover all your dark and twisty places inside because those are the people that can show you what's real, when you can’t see that yourself. It can be the beginning of everything, if you let it.”

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