J.J. Abrams Helped Make This Gritty 2022 Crime Thriller Streaming On Netflix
by Sandy Schaefer · /Film2022's "Lou" features some big name talents on its call sheet. It was produced by none other than J.J. Abrams and helmed by Anna Foerster, a prolific TV director and cinematographer who got her start doing visual effects photography on movies like "Independence Day" and "Pitch Black." Plus, it stars the great (and Oscar-winning) Allison Janney opposite Jurnee Smollett of "Birds of Prey" and "Lovecraft Country" fame. So, why is it likely you have little to no memory of this film even coming out?
That's probably because it's a Netflix action thriller. I'm not sure why, exactly, but the streaming giant's original movies in this genre tend to blur together, and many of them feel like a xerox of a xerox of a better film (to borrow a line from Netflix's animated crown jewel "BoJack Horseman"), even when they hail from top of the line artists. To be fair, though, you could say the same thing about pretty much every major streamer's action blockbusters, and filmmaker Patrick (H) Willems even devoted an entire video to trying to get to the bottom of this.
In the case of "Lou," the hard-edged crime flick was well enough received to earn an unremarkable but "Fresh" critical score of 68% on Rotten Tomatoes. Likewise, /Film's review awarded it a 6/10 at the time of its debut and seemed to echo the general sentiment around the movie, arguing that it's "elevated by solid performances, but not quite enough to escape the limitations of well-tread territory." Still, compared to certain other Netflix offerings that shall remain nameless, you could certainly do far worse than watching Janney do her version of an "Old Man Liam Neeson" action film.
Allison Janney's got a gun in Netflix's Lou
Who could've predicted "Taken" would usher in a sub-genre involving cranky retirees using their deadly skills to save the day that would proliferate for the next 20 years? "Lou" upholds that tradition by casting Allison Janney as Lou Adell, a reticent, irascible hermit type who resides with her dog in a remote region of Washington in the 1980s. She's also the landlord to her neighbor Hannah Dawson (Jurnee Smollett), a single mother who lives with her young daughter Vee (Ridley Asha Bateman) and is clearly trying to leave her troubled past behind.
Sure enough, that past catches up to her when a mysterious figure (Logan Marshall-Green) kidnaps Vee, forcing both Hannah and Lou to confront the dark secrets they've been sitting on while joining forces to rescue the former's daughter. Prior to "Lou," Anna Foerster directed an episode of the Bad Robot-backed HBO series "Westworld," so that may explain how J.J. Abrams got involved here. She does a steady job capturing the movie's action in fluid takes, too, all while infusing its wilderness backdrop with enough grime and rain to give it some texture. (Although, as is too often the case with streaming titles, one wishes this film was less visually murky.)
The main issue is the script credited to Maggie Cohn and Jack Stanley. At its core, "Lou" is about two very different women who know just how harsh and unforgiving the world can be (for women, in particular) and gradually bond, yet its creaky plot beats and twists tend to take precedence over that compelling throughline. But a gun-toting, haunted Allison Janney goes a long way, and "Lou" will do the trick for any Netflix subscribers who want to watch her one-up Liam Neeson at his own game.