Honestly, if you told me back in the Charlie’s Angels days that Lucy Liu would eventually be the frontrunner for an Oscar for a quiet, devastating indie drama, I’d have believed you—but I’m not sure the rest of Hollywood would have. For years, she was the "action girl." She was O-Ren Ishii. She was the woman who could kick your teeth in without breaking a sweat. But right now, everyone is talking about Rosemead, the Lucy Liu new movie that is fundamentally shifting how we see her as an artist.
It’s different. It’s heavy.
And it’s finally giving her the leading lady flowers she’s deserved since the nineties.
What is Rosemead actually about?
The film is based on a haunting, true story originally reported by Frank Shyong for the Los Angeles Times back in 2017. If you haven’t read that piece, it’s titled "A dying mother’s plan: Buy a gun. Rent a hotel room. Kill her son." Yeah. It's that dark.
In the film, Lucy Liu plays Irene, a Taiwanese immigrant mother living in the San Gabriel Valley. She’s a widow, she’s dying of terminal cancer, and she is the sole caregiver for her teenage son, Joe (played by newcomer Lawrence Shou). Joe is struggling with severe schizophrenia. As Irene’s health fails, she becomes obsessed with a singular, terrifying fear: what happens to her son when she's gone?
🔗 Read more: The Reality of Sex Movies From Africa: Censorship, Nollywood, and the Digital Underground
In a world where he could end up homeless, incarcerated, or a danger to others, Irene begins to contemplate the unthinkable to "save" him. It’s a psychological thriller, sure, but it’s mostly a heart-wrenching character study about the gaps in our mental health system and the crushing weight of immigrant parental sacrifice.
Why this role is a first for Lucy Liu
Believe it or not, despite her massive fame, this is effectively the first time Lucy Liu has "led" a major live-action dramatic feature in this specific way. She’s usually part of an ensemble or the secondary lead in a blockbuster. For Rosemead, she also stepped up as a producer. She spent five years trying to get this made.
She even had to re-learn Mandarin for the role. She grew up speaking it, but as she told Deco Drive recently, she lost much of it to the "public school" effect where English takes over. Watching her switch between languages on screen feels authentic because it is her history.
The awards buzz is getting loud
We are currently in the thick of the 2026 awards season, and the momentum is real. After a limited run in December 2025, the film hit a wide release on January 9, 2026. Critics are calling it "shattering." Bill Newcott writing for The Saturday Evening Post noted that Liu "physically shrinks" on screen as the cancer and the stress take their toll.
💡 You might also like: Alfonso Cuarón: Why the Harry Potter 3 Director Changed the Wizarding World Forever
She’s already picking up hardware.
- Bentonville Film Festival: Won the Rising to the Challenge Award.
- Miami Film Festival: Honored with the Precious Gem Award.
- AARP Movies for Grownups: Just snagged a Best Actress nomination last week.
There is a genuine sense that the Academy might finally recognize her. It’s that "career-defining" performance people always talk about.
It’s not just Rosemead on the horizon
While Rosemead is the heavy hitter right now, 2026 is looking like the "Year of Liu." She just finished filming The Devil Wears Prada 2, which is slated for a May 2026 release. She’s joining Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in the sequel, which explores the death of print journalism. It’s a total 180 from the grit of Rosemead, proving she still has those comedic, high-fashion chops.
Then there’s Superfakes. This is a new series for A24 created by Alice Ju (who wrote for Beef). Lucy plays a Chinatown counterfeit luxury dealer trying to go legit. Think Uncut Gems energy but with knock-off Birkin bags and the Safdie Brothers producing. It’s gritty, it’s fast, and it sounds like a blast.
📖 Related: Why the Cast of Hold Your Breath 2024 Makes This Dust Bowl Horror Actually Work
Why this movie matters for the Asian American community
Rosemead isn't just a sad movie. It’s a specific look at a community that often hides its "dirty laundry." Mental illness is a massive taboo in many immigrant households. By centering the story in Rosemead, California—a massive Chinese-American enclave—the film forces a conversation about the stigma of schizophrenia and the lack of accessible care.
Irene isn't a villain for her plan; she’s a woman who feels she has zero options left. The film was directed by Eric Lin and written by Marilyn Fu, making it a rare project where the entire creative spine is Asian American. That authenticity is exactly why it’s resonating so much more than a standard Hollywood "disease of the week" drama.
Other recent projects you might have missed
If you’re just catching up on the Lucy Liu new movie cycle, you should probably circle back to a few things from late 2024 and early 2025:
- Old Guy (2025): She starred opposite Christoph Waltz in this action-comedy. She plays Anata, a younger, ambitious assassin who has to babysit Waltz’s aging hitman character. It’s fun, it’s stylish, and it’s directed by Simon West (the Con Air guy).
- Red One (2024): This was the big $250 million Christmas movie with Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans. Lucy played Zoe Harlow, the head of M.O.R.A. (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority). It was a box office bomb, but she was easily one of the best parts of the movie, bringing a needed "straight-man" energy to the chaos.
- Presence (2024): A Steven Soderbergh ghost story that premiered at Sundance. She plays the mother in a family moving into a haunted house, but the twist is the entire movie is shot from the perspective of the ghost.
Practical steps for viewers
If you want to catch Rosemead before the Oscar ballots are cast, here is the current status:
- Theaters: It is currently in wide release across the United States as of January 9, 2026. Check your local indie theaters or AMC listings.
- Streaming: Since Vertical is the distributor, expect it to hit VOD (Apple TV/Amazon) by late February. It will likely land on a streaming service like Hulu or Netflix by the summer.
- Follow the Buzz: Keep an eye on the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) nominations. If she lands a nod there, her Oscar nomination is basically a lock.
The best way to support this kind of filmmaking is to see it in the theater. Rosemead is a small movie with a massive heart, and it proves that after thirty years in the game, Lucy Liu is only just getting started.