Movie Reviews

‘Words On Bathroom Walls’ Blu-Ray Review – Atypical Teen Romance Is Bolstered By Standout Performances

By Dillon Gonzales
March 8, 2021
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Adam (Charlie Plummer) is a witty, introspective teen pursuing his dream of becoming a chef. When Adam is diagnosed with a mental illness, he lives in fear of being exposed — until he meets Maya (Taylor Russell), an outspoken and fiercely intelligent girl who inspires him to open his heart and not be defined by his condition. With its inspiring journey of love, acceptance, and hope, Words on Bathroom Walls is a triumphant story of overcoming life’s challenges and embracing who you are.

For in-depth thoughts on Words On Bathroom Walls, please see my colleague Tia Fabi’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

Words On Bathroom Walls comes to Blu-Ray in a detailed 1080p presentation in its 2.39:1 original aspect ratio that truly wows in high definition. The clarity throughout is outstanding with subtle flourishes in the clothing and production design coming through perfectly. Color saturation is great with the color palette pushing slightly warmer to fit the mood and location of the narrative. The CGI employed in the film is a bit inconsistent, but the transfer handles it pretty well. Skin tones are natural to the lighting conditions and are quite detailed in close-up and medium shots. The film employs an intentionally hazy aesthetic to mirror the lack of clarity that Adam is experiencing in his mind at times. Black levels are pretty deep and do not fall victim to any noticeable digital noise or errors of the sort. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has delivered an outstanding high definition presentation here.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with a knockout DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that recreates the settings perfectly. Dialogue is the driving force of the film, and it always comes through crisp and clear without being clipped by any competing sounds. There is very little in the way of action sequences, but the ambient sounds during Adam’s hallucinations engage the surround speakers in a really pleasing way. Environmental sounds are precisely placed in the rear channels. The music in the film fills the speakers in a sprawling, well-balanced way. There are a few exaggerated moments in the film that engage the low end in a really powerful manner. This audio track is surprisingly one of the most dynamic I have heard from a non-action film in a while.

Special Features

Image Gallery: A collection of images from the production are included here.

Trailer: The nearly three-minute trailer is provided here which accurately sells the charms of the film.

Final Thoughts

Words On Bathroom Walls does not go out of its way to give a thorough account of mental illness, but it gets points for handling the subject with care while delivering a charming teen romance. The movie is elevated substantially thanks to the performances of Charlie Plummer and Taylor Russell, who after Waves continues to make a case for being one of the most exciting young performers around right now. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has given this film a Blu-Ray with a pretty phenomenal A/V presentation, but not much in the way of extras. If you are generally a sucker for teen romances done well, this one should definitely be on your radar. Recommended

Words On Bathroom Walls is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Lionsgate Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.