The film parsimoniously employs flashbacks to illustrate Ayers’ childhood to reveal that he displayed symptoms of schizophrenia early in adolescence. For example, as the film temporally shifts from present to past, it shows Ayers gradual emotional unpredictability, and in this same period of early adolescence, Ayers experiences some visual hallucinations. Moreover, these scenes illustrate Nathaniel’s gradual social withdrawal, and his discarding of any other activity to satisfy his increasing fixation on music. Further, these flashbacks illustrate how Nathaniel attended the prestigious Juilliard School, but dropped out early, as the acute onset of this disorder took hold. Importantly, these flashbacks also serve to illustrate the prodromal