Measured and wrenching, “Rosemead” is a reminder that catastrophes may arise out of convergences. In the titular small town in California, Irene, an immigrant from Taipei (the actor Lucy Liu giving a deeply compassionate performance), leads her 17-year-old son, Joe (Lawrence Shou), toward the unimaginable.
When Irene picks up Joe from school, their genial exchange glosses over the day’s low points. It’s an instructive opening from the director Eric Lin, who wrote this intimate drama with Marilyn Fu based on a 2017 Los Angeles Times article by Frank Shyong.
We’ve just seen Joe in class — his leg jiggling, his worksheet crowded with obsessively doodled spiders — and Irene at her doctor’s office discussing another round of cancer treatments.
Each anxiously monitors the other. Is Joe — recently diagnosed with schizophrenia — taking his meds? Is Mom sick again? The death of Irene’s husband and Joe’s father (Orion Lee, in flashbacks) prompts the film’s unease and grounds its sorrow.
Yes, the pair may be isolated within a predominantly Asian community that can be hypervigilant about private matters, like mourning and mental health (a point vital to the film’s makers). But interventions by classmates and Irene’s best friend (Jennifer Lim), suggest that they aren’t alone.
The events here unspool at a time when school shootings lead breaking news. Although Joe’s therapist (James Chen) is cautiously optimistic, Irene becomes convinced Joe might turn violent. The lengths she goes to prevent that are honorable — and shattering. In its march toward resolution, “Rosemead” never falters in its compassion, and asks the same of us.
Rosemead Rated R for some language. Running time: 1 hour 37 minutes. In theaters.
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