A coming of age tale and escaping past ghosts
Damon Smith reviews the latest films to watch at home
Words On Bathroom Walls
Cert 12, 112 mins, selected streaming services from March 15 Witty, introspective high school student Adam Petrizelli (Charlie Plummer) is diagnosed with schizophrenia, which manifests as a pervasive, spider-like darkness that leeches into his waking visions.
Voices in his head take the form of three distinct, competing personalities: hippy chic free spirit Rebecca (Annasophia Robb), sex-obsessed teen Joaquin (Devon Bostick) and baseball bat-wielding thug The Bodyguard (Lobo Sebastian).
A psychotic break in chemistry class leads to expulsion from school and Adam transfers midway through his senior year to Saint Agatha’s Catholic academy. The youngster’s trials create friction between his doting mother Beth (Molly Parker) and new stepfather (Walton Goggins).
Based on the young adult novel by Julia Walton, Words On Bathroom Walls strikes a pleasing balance between honouring and subverting the conventions of a coming-of-age story.
In a year when mental health has been elevated in the public consciousness, director Thor Freudenthal’s drama is a timely call to arms for compassion for those who are suffering in isolation.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette
Cert 12/109mins ,s elected streaming services from March 15 Cate Blanchett delivers an eye-catching performance in the title role of Richard Linklater’s comedy drama, adapted for screen from Maria Semple’s 2012 novel.
Agoraphobic architect Bernadette Fox (Blanchett) rarely leaves the Seattle home she shares with her husband Elgie (Billy Crudup) and 15-year-old daughter Bee (Emma Nelson).
Bernadette cultivates a close bond with Bee and nervously agrees to a family trip to Antarctica to celebrate her daughter’s excellent school grades.
As the date of the trip nears, Bernadette’s behaviour becomes more erratic and misanthropic than usual, causing deep concern for her loved ones.
The Winter Lake (Cert 15/92mins. selected streaming services from March 15
Elaine (Charlie Murphy) and her son Tom (Anson Boon) move from England to Sligo to escape ghosts of the past. The single mother blames her withdrawn boy for their predicament and she festers in an old family home, far from their nearest neighbours: overly protective father Ward (Michael Mcelhatton) and his daughter Holly (Emma Mackey).
During one of his solo excursions, Tom makes a grim discovery inside a sack that washes up on the shore of a local lake. This chilling find sows seeds of suspicion about Ward and Holly.