'Rosemead'-Goes Out With a Bang
A mother’s love is all you need. For some who aren’t able to take care of themselves, it’s essential to their survival. But what happens when the mother gets sick, unable to take care of their child, who’s emotionally trapped in an infantile state? Rosemead tackles heavy subjects without taking them lightly. Don’t let the poster that’s all smiles fool you. This is not an uplifting story. We’re led to believe this might be one, but reality is much sadder than we care to admit.
Rosemead is inspired by a true story. That’s certainly clear when reaching the movie’s ending, which is as real as a bucket of cold water to the face. It’s the story of a schizophrenic son who has potential, but his emotional well-being prevents him from being able to function in society. Joe (Lawrence Shou) is the prototypical ideal student. He’s a top athlete and has spectacular grades. That is when is mind is working at an efficient capacity. When it’s not, Joe melts down, losing his sense of reality. It certainly doesn’t help Joe’s mental well-being when going to a school where active shooter drills are just a common occurrence.
When Joe turns on the news, he hears reports of a shooting. In school, teachers have to train students to hide from the shooter. Spoiler: If a shooter were to come into a school, the drill tactics are completely useless. America lives in a paranoid state of nothing happening about gun violence post-Columbine. Instead of doing anything regulate gun control, firearms flow freely through the legal and black market. This isn’t a political rant, as it’s essentially a large part of the film. Despite having a strong support network of friends and his mother, Joe can’t shake the thought that one day, he’ll be the gunman.
The way the movie handles Joe’s dilemma is incredibly delicate. Joe isn’t depicted as a monster. Nor is his mother uncaring or clueless. This is a film that treats its characters as real humans, with flaws and tremendous beauty. When some of us try our best to help our kids, our lives blow up in our faces. Most children wind up okay, while there’s a minority who don’t. So what do we do about them? Many people say it’s important to go out and seek professional help, but there’s one big problem this movie highlights. Even the mental health professionals don’t know what to do.
Mental health is not like physical health. There’s no cure for your disease, only permanent treatment. A pill can’t fix everyone. Nor can therapy. They’re just doomed to live with what they have until they meet the dirt. The only solution for helpless cases is institutionalization. Even worse, adequate funding and permanent residence for institutions just aren’t available. Take all of these issues, plus the fact that Joe’s mother, Irene (Lucy Liu), is dying of cancer, and you have a mountain of problems for Irene to handle. The film depicts Irene as a loving mother who, despite being an immigrant, powers through the impossible jungle of despair, yet unlike most movies, we question if she’ll make it to safety.
Director Eric Lin doesn’t offer easy answers to this movie’s problems. If anything, it’s a strong critique of our mental healthcare system, which fails to protect its patients. All they can do is offer their sympathy, hoping a psychological bomb won't detonate. When Irene warns Joe’s doctor about his potential danger in shooting up the school, he’s considered to be locked up permanently when he turns 18. The doctor doesn’t say it’s an indefinite stay, but it’s implied.
All of these complex elements work very well in a film that could use a little less hamminess at times. After the film’s opening shot, we’re introduced to a shot of the blue sky, with a corny title reading “based on a true story” that belongs in an LMN film more than a major motion picture. Also, for as gravely serious as the movie’s subject matter is, there are some unintentionally funny scenes that might make you chuckle. One instance involves one of Joe’s episodes. A friend of his finds a map that looks like it came from Silent Hill. When she looks up, Joe is running around the school hallway with his arm flailing around while screaming like a banshee. The camera stays wide as he bolts between doors like it’s something out of an old vaudeville routine.
Also, can we please shoot more movies on film? The digital cinematography looks too clean, and my eye will not unsee the frame's blur when something moves. The movie looks more like a student film than a full-blown production.
We don’t get movies that are this honest anymore. They’re mostly either filled with rose colored sentimentality or bleak strokes of simplicity. Rosemead is somewhere in between. Watch the movie for the hard questions it asks. Also, stick around for Lucy Liu’s performance. Is it fantastic? If her accent isn’t tacked on, it is. A white guy like me isn’t the best at detecting a ham-fisted Asian accent from an authentic one. For my money, Liu would know better than me. Rosemead opens wide in theaters this Friday. If you’re up for an honest bummer, you should really see Rosemead, as we need more films that take a difficult but necessary examination of gun control and mental health, as this movie does.
Rosemead opens in theaters this Friday.
