Based on a true story (and a 2017 L.A. Times column about it), director Eric Lin’s debut feature (after years of being a cinematographer), Rosemead focuses on terminally ill widow Irene (a revelatory Lucy Liu), who lives with her diagnosed schizophrenic, 17-year-old son, Joe (Lawrence Shou) in San Gabriel Valley, California. Both have been taking medication for their conditions, none of which seems to be working for either of them. Irene hides her terminal diagnosis from her son so as not to add to his mental strain, but the former star student and swimmer only sees his condition get worse and he begins to entertain violent thoughts, both against others and himself.
Clearly, Irene thinks she’s doing the right thing by not committing her son, even after he gets in trouble with the police or after she finds tabs open on his laptop having to do with notorious school shootings around the country. But Joe’s outbursts become more frequent, and he eventually runs away, setting off a dedicated missing-person search by Irene (although she refuses to involve the police). Making the situation worse, Joe’s 18th birthday is fast approaching, meaning Irene will have less of a legal standing to make medical decisions for her son or even have custody of him. By the time she finds him again—homeless and barely functioning—she realizes that she has to make tough decisions about what is best for her son, especially after she’s gone (her latest diagnosis only gives her a few months to live), and Irene must decide what she is willing to sacrifice to protect him and others.
Adapted for the screen by Marilyn Fu, nothing quite prepared me for the path this movie takes or where it lands this family and us. When Joe is stable and the two are able to reminisce about better times, especially those involving Irene’s late husband, the problems they are facing seem manageable if still substantial. But it doesn’t take Joe long to spiral into violent fantasies about people coming to get him and his mother and how he must defend himself against these imaginary invaders, and Irene soon understands that many of the choices she’s made about his care have been the wrong ones.
They hide out in a motel room to celebrate his birthday, and Joe starts to wonder about the possibility of living in the room forever so the outside world can’t get in, but everyone knows that isn’t a reality, and Irene is terrified of leaving this poor kid alone to deal with his issues after she dies. Rosemead is a difficult film to watch at times, not just because Joe is so troubled and potentially dangerous, but because we see Irene intend the best and do the worst time and again. Liu is spectacular in this role, and having just seen the re-released, conjoined Kill Bill movies (in which she is also a highlight), it’s incredible to witness what 20-plus years can give an actor in terms of life experience and fine-tuning their abilities as a performer. The film isn’t going to sit well with many, but it is based on a painfully true story, so you can’t exactly fault the moviemakers for making bad story choices. They went where real life took them, and sometimes that’s a brutal place—but I think it’s one worth seeking out.
The film is now playing in Chicago exclusively at the AMC River East.
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