“Lou” (2022) Starring Allison Janney & Jurnee Smollett / Z-View

Lou (2022)

Director:  Anna Foerster

Screenplay:  Maggie Cohn, Jack Stanley

Stars: Allison Janney, Jurnee Smollett, Logan Marshall-Green, Ridley Asha Bateman, Matt Craven and Daniel Bernhardt

Tagline: None

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Hannah (Smollett) lives on a small, remote island with her daughter Vee (Bateman).  The island is sparsely populated with much of it wilderness.  Hannah’s nearest neighbor is her landlord, Lou (Janney).  Lou is a grumpy, older woman who keeps to herself.

While a storm rages, Vee is kidnapped by her former special forces psycho father (Marshall-Green).  All phone lines are down so Hannah runs to Lou’s place for help.  Surprisingly, Lou seems to come alive.  She arms herself with a pistol and rifle.  Lou tells Hannah she will track and bring back Vee.  Hannah says that her ex-husband is former special forces and he’s crazy.  Lou says she can handle it and starts off.  Hannah follows.  There’s more to Lou than Hannah realized, but can Lou really save her daughter?

Who’d have thought Allison Janey could be an action star?  Surprisingly, she pulls it off!  The fight scenes and action beats are believable.  Janey’s best acting occurs when she comes off as a tired old lady lost in the woods and then takes on two men!  Logan Marshall-Green maintains the right balance as the crazy dad/pitiful son.  Jurnee Smollett and Ridley Asha Bateman are perfect for their roles and look like they could actually be mother and daughter.  If you’re a fan of action movies, you should enjoy Lou.  I did.

Lou earns 3 of 5 stars.