lou movie review rotten tomatoes

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Watch Lou with a subscription on Prime Video.

Audience Reviews

Cast & crew.

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When I told my wife that I had to watch "An Allison Janney Action Movie" for a review this week, she was a little startled (although interested in the concept, to be fair). I'm all for unexpected casting, and the truth is that Janney has the range to do just about anything, as she's proven with her long, award-winning career. Therefore, it's not surprising that Janney is easily the best thing about "Lou," but watching this talented actress give so much to a movie that gives absolutely nothing back starts to get depressing. She's constantly trying to pull "Lou" into more interesting territory, but the clunky filmmaking and silly script keep pulling in the other direction, with her talented co-stars Logan Marshall-Green and Jurnee Smollett stuck in the tug-of-war.

In what's sort of a gender-swapped " Taken ," Janney plays the title character, a loner in a remote area of the Pacific Northwest in the 1980s. The film opens with Lou in a dark place. She kills a deer to establish her tough guy bona fides for the audience, withdraws all of her money, and writes a mysterious letter to someone about inheriting her home. She slugs some bourbon and prepares to take her own life when a woman renting a home nearby bursts through the door. It's Hannah (Smollett), and her daughter Vee ( Ridley Asha Bateman ) is missing. Oh, did I mention a storm is coming? It's about to get ugly outside and there's now a missing girl.

Hannah knows who took her daughter—her ex-husband Phillip (Logan Marshall-Green), who we meet beating and killing a man who was silly enough to pick up a hitchhiker. It's revealed that Phillip was not just an abusive husband to Hannah but faked his own death so he could get to his daughter under the cover of being presumed dead. Phillip is not your ordinary sociopath—he was a special forces soldier, and he even brought along a couple of his buddies to help with the kidnapping. All of them underestimated Lou. Of course.

Once Lou and Hannah get out into the torrential rain, "Lou" should have had momentum as a survival thriller. And there's a great action scene in a cabin wherein the title character unleashes her training on a couple of dudes who don't see it coming. With some tight fight choreography that Janney completely sells, I was ready for the film to build from there. And then it just stalls out.

A ridiculous twist doesn't help. Without spoiling, "Lou" has one of those suspension of disbelief character connections that requires robust writing and direction to push through it. When a movie takes a sharp, unbelievable turn, viewers are willing to set aside skepticism if the story keeps them entertained. But "Lou" can't manage this trick, allowing us to question the logic of it all in a way that makes the emotional scenes later feel hollow. The minute you start asking whether or not someone would make that choice in a movie like "Lou," it comes apart.

Credit to Janney for never giving into the idea that Lou has to be likable. She's a suicidal killing machine. If anything, I wanted the film to lean into her cynicism and nihilism even more but was impressed that Janney never softens her edges. She seems to be the only person involved who understands that this movie needs to be a no-fat, no-frills thriller. Her co-stars, the usually reliable Marshall-Green and Smollett, don't fare as well with the former turning the crazy dial up too high and the latter being given almost nothing to play beyond panicked mother.

Action movies that reshape the expectations of actors known primarily for drama can be a blast. I loved what Bob Odenkirk did in " Nobody ," for example. And Allison Janney proves with "Lou" that she could carry an action movie. If only she got one worth carrying.

On Netflix today.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

Allison Janney as Lou
Greyston Holt as Chris
Jurnee Smollett as Hannah
Logan Marshall-Green as Philip
Ridley Asha Bateman as Vee
Matt Craven as Sheriff Rankin
Anna Foerster
Jack Stanley

Writer (story by)

Maggie Cohn
Paul Tothill

Cinematographer

Michael McDonough
Nima Fakhrara

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Lou: release date, trailer and everything we know about the Allison Janney and Jurnee Smollett film

Two unlikely allies work together to rescue one child in the new thriller.

Allison Janney as Lou and Jurnee Smollett as Hannah standing in the woods in Lou

What do you get when you pair a multi-Emmy-Awarding winning actress with an actress that’s been in a few of the most critically acclaimed series over the past ten years? Hopefully, a hit, but for now let’s call it Lou , Netflix’s new thriller featuring Allison Janney and Jurnee Smollett.

The film follows a mother played by Smollett as she attempts to rescue her daughter who’s been kidnapped. While she may not initially like Janney’s character Lou, the mother quickly realizes that she needs her help if she’s going to rescue the child. Did we mention that these two ladies have to do all this while in the wilderness and under the inclement weather conditions of a massive storm?

Here’s everything we know about Lou .

When is the Lou release date?

Lou premiered in both the US and the UK exclusively on Netflix on Friday, September 23. Those interested in watching the film will need a subscription to the streaming giant. Not yet a Netflix subscriber? Don’t worry, you can purchase a membership with just a few clicks.

What is Lou about?

Netflix provides the following synopsis of Lou :

"Hoping to leave her dangerous past behind, Lou (Janney) finds her quiet life disrupted when a desperate mother (Smollett) living next door begs her to save her kidnapped daughter. To make matters worse, a massive storm is underway, and both women must risk their lives on a rescue mission that will test their limits and expose dark secrets from their past."

As previously mentioned, Lou stars Allison Janney. Although prior to 1999, Janney had been in featured in a number of different television shows and films, she propelled to superstar status playing C.J. Cregg in The West Wing . The role earned her an impressive four Emmy Awards. Janney also won two Emmys for her part in MOM , one Emmy for her work in Masters of Sex and an Oscar for her role in I, Tonya .

Starring alongside Janney is the former child actress Jurnee Smollett. Smollett has come a long way since her days on Full House , Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and Eve’s Bayou . Having grown up and turned into a highly sought-after actress, she has been featured in some critically raved about shows including Parenthood , True Blood and Underground . Additionally, in 2021 she received an Emmy nomination for her work in Lovecraft Country , and she recently starred in the Netflix film Spiderhead .

Be sure to check out the full list of acting credits for Lou on IMDb .

Lou trailer

If nothing else, the trailer is a testament to Janney’s versatility as an actress. She is quite believable as a disgruntled survivalist of sorts.

Lou reviews

As of September 23, the film had a Tomatometer score of 69% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metascore of 52 on Metacritic .

Here are just some of the reviews from critics.

"Sometimes you just want a crazy action movie to kill an evening, and Lou fits that bill. Just don’t expect to be thinking about it tomorrow." - Wall Street Journal

"Allison Janney proves with Lou that she could carry an action movie. If only she got one worth carrying." - Roger Ebert

In the US, the film has received a rating of R.

Lou runtime

Lou has a runtime of one hour and 47 minutes.

Lou director

It seems only fitting that directing such talented women onscreen is another incredibly talented woman, Anna Foerster. Foerster’s directing credits include Underworld: Blood Wars and episodes of popular shows like Westworld , Jessica Jones , Madam Secretary and Criminal Minds .

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Terrell Smith has a diverse writing background having penned material for a wide array of clients including the federal government and Bravo television personalities. When he’s not writing as Terrell, he’s writing under his pseudonym Tavion Scott, creating scripts for his audio drama podcasts. Terrell is a huge fan of great storytelling when it comes to television and film. Some of his favorite shows include The Crown , WandaVision , Abbot Elementary and Godfather of Harlem . And a fun fact is he's completely dialed into the TLC 90 Day Fiancé universe.

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