Turtles All the Way Down

A film about a high school student living with intrusive thoughts. Aza has obsessive-compulsive disorder. Her mind locks onto a thought and will not release it: germs, bacteria, the fear of losing control of her own body. She keeps reopening a wound on her finger. At the same time she hears there is a reward for finding a missing billionaire. His son Davis is a childhood friend. The two start seeing each other again and a relationship forms. The real subject is why that relationship does not work. Aza wants it and her mind will not permit it; even a kiss becomes a calculation of threat for her. The most carefully handled element is the inner voice. Aza's spirals are given as voiceover and accelerate and overlap; the viewer cannot get out of the thought either. The source is John Green's novel; the author said he wrote it to describe his own obsessive-compulsive disorder. Isabela Merced plays Aza. Hannah Marks directed. It was shown directly on a streaming service. A carefully made example for anyone who likes teenage drama and films about mental health. For a viewer expecting classic teen romance, the film does not resolve the relationship and the focus is entirely on Aza's struggle with herself.