LOU (2022) on Netflix is a new survival thriller starring Allison Janney, Jurnee Smollett, and Logan Marshall-Green. Great suspense, intense action, and brutally realistic consequences. Definitely watch this. Read our full Lou movie review here!
LOU (2022) is a new Netflix survival thriller with action, crime, and (of course) drama as supporting genres. The plot is fairly simple, though there is also a mystery, you’ll be seeing unravel. Also, we begin in one place, jump back a few hours, and then return to the starting point.
If you’re looking at your phone while the movie is beginning (which you really shouldn’t!), you might get a bit confused. This Netflix movie stars Allison Janney, Jurnee Smollett, and Logan Marshall-Green in the three all-important lead roles.
Continue reading our full Lou movie review below. Watch it out on Netflix from September 23, 2022.
Allison Janney is perfect as Lou
I have long been a fan of Allison Janney (The West Wing, The Girl on the Train). From the first time I ever saw her in anything, I have loved her style, so I’m always happy to watch anything with her in the cast. In this Netflix movie, she plays the title character of Lou.
Now, while Allison Janney has played some tough and sassy women in the past, Lou is right up there with Terminator‘s Sarah Connor. She’s trained and ruthless. And I love it!
Jurnee Smollett continues to impress
Sharing top-billing with Allison Janney is one of my newer favorites: Jurnee Smollett. So far, she has done no wrong in anything I’ve watched her in. From being Black Canary in Birds of Prey to having a starring role in the HBO series Lovecraft Country, Jurnee Smollett is just killing it. Hell, she was even good in True Blood though I did not like that storyline.
Lou is no exception to this amazing path for Jurnee Smollett!
What I really like about Jurnee Smollett in Lou, and everything else she’s done is that she always manages to show strength and emotions. Meaning she’s always showing that you can be a strong and capable person, but not make yourself cold. You can love and hurt, but still, keep fighting.
That’s real and important – particularly in a survival story of this kind!
In Lou, she has a young daughter, Vee, who is also portrayed wonderfully by Ridley Asha Bateman. Kids can be hit or misses, but the young Ridley Asha Bateman is clearly a hit!
Logan Marshall-Green always delivers
Admittedly, I do feel very spoiled with the cast of Lou since the core cast consists of three actors I absolutely adore. After Allison Janney and Jurnee Smollett, we’re introduced to Logan Marshall-Green who is somewhat of a chameleon.
He can play the charming good guy or the sadistic bad guy. Sometimes even a little bit of both.
From Prometheus to The Invitation to Leigh Whannell‘s 2018 sci-fi action thriller Upgrade, we see Logan Marshall-Green portray intriguing and fascinating characters. In Lou, he is definitely not a good guy.
However, to keep things real, we do also get some backstory. Not to excuse his behavior but rather to help explain what shaped him into the man he is today.
Watch Lou on Netflix now!
Anna Foerster (Underworld: Blood Wars, Westworld) is the director of LOU and does an amazing job. From the visual style to the pacing, this is a thriller that really works for me. I was a bit worried that the runtime of 1 hour and 47 minutes might be a bit too much. It isn’t. Not even a little bit!
The screenplay is based on a story by Maggie Cohn and was written by Maggie Cohn and Jack Stanley. This is the first feature film screenplay from Maggie Cohn, who previously wrote on The Staircase, Narcos: México, and American Crime Story. For Jack Stanley, this is a writing debut.
LOU is full of suspense, mystery, and brutal action sequences, and it features a realistic backstory not too different from what some true-crime documentaries have covered. You’ll definitely want to watch this on Netflix!
Lou premieres on Netflix globally on September 23, 2022.
Details
Director: Anna Foerster
Writers: Maggie Cohn, Jack Stanley
Stars: Allison Janney, Jurnee Smollett, Logan Marshall-Green, Ridley Asha Bateman, Matt Craven, Greyston Holt, RJ Fetherstonhaugh, Marci T. House
Plot
Thinking she’d put her dangerous past behind her, Lou (Allison Janney) finds her quiet life interrupted when a desperate mother (Jurnee Smollett) begs her to save her kidnapped daughter. As a massive storm rages, the two women risk their lives on a rescue mission that will test their limits and expose dark and shocking secrets from their pasts.
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