Rosemead tells a tragic but true story starring an incredible Lucy Liu as an immigrant mother dealing with mental illness in her teenage son. It’s a powerful story but very sad.

Rosemead begins with Irene (Lucy Liu) working in her print shop in Rosemead, CA. All around her is a tight knit group other immigrants who speak a mix of English and Mandarin.

Just a couple of years ago, Irene’s husband died. She’s in the middle of cancer treatments herself and it doesn’t look promising. On top of those two life-altering problems, her teen son Joe (Lawrence Shou) develops schizophrenia.

We see Joe at school. Normally a good student with loyal friends, he sits at his desk unable to work. The director Eric Lin shows Joe’s mental illness using flashes of things Joe “sees” and whispered voices he “hears”. When he freaks out during an active shooter drill at school, the principal and his teacher call Irene in for a conference.

Irene knew he was troubled, but not how bad it was. She has him going to a counselor (she lies about why to her gossipy and judgemental Chinese friends) and taking medication. But in her world, mental illness is misunderstood and not treated effectively.

Joe becomes more and more erratic. Irene gets sicker and sicker. He’s picked up by the police for wandering in traffic while talking incoherently. The police remind Irene that she will no longer have legal guardianship over Joe when he reaches 18 in just a few days.

Then Joe vanishes. Irene searches for him. His school friends search for him. She plasters Rosemead with posters about him. A man in a pawn shop recognized his photo and said he’d been in. He promised to call Irene if Joe came back.

At home, Irene finds troubling things on Joe’s computer. Websites about school shootings. Websites about guns. Notebooks full of dark and frightening drawings. She tells the counselor about them, but Joe can’t be found. She fears Joe’s going to do something violent at the school, even though Joe’s counselor tells her schizophrenics are seldom violent.

Joe’s happy memory, one he talked about to his counselor, was of a night he spent in a motel with his parents when he was 12. They sang and danced and laughed. He remembers that happy time. Irene finally finds him outside that motel.

Irene knows she’s dying. The police have already told her Joe will probably be institutionalized after he turns 18 if he’s found acting strangely again. She fears he will hurt people before he can be helped. She’s alone in her worry and fear and makes a desperate decision about what to do when Joe’s 18th birthday comes.

Both Lucy Liu and Lawrence Shou gave strong and powerful performances. They brought both the mother and the son to life and made their problems real and understandable. It’s a tragic story, told with outstanding acting.

Rosemead is heavy and dark and sad. It’s not for everyone. Don’t go into it thinking Lucy Liu is going to be her usual glamorous self. She’s mousey and quiet and not at all glamorous.

If you want to take a look at this one, it’s streaming on Hulu/Disney+.