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United States · 2022
Rated G · 1h 49m
Director Anna Foerster
Starring
Genre Action & Adventure
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A tough and mysterious elderly woman living on a remote island is recruited by a neighbor to help her find her daughter who was kidnapped during a powerful storm. Their journey tests their limits and exposes the dark secrets of their pasts.
The performances are mostly entertaining, the scenery is rich, but it has flaws in the story that make it difficult to accept in some places. It’s also these flaws that allow the audience to figure out the plot a little prematurely.
The sheer existence of Lou might be a step in the right direction for women over 50 in action movies, but it’s a misstep everywhere else.
RogerEbert.com by Brian Tallerico
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.
Screen Rant by Brittany Witherspoon
Lou is a quiet thriller that takes a deep dive into the consequences of one’s actions. The film enables Janney and Jurnee Smollett to command every scrap of attention through physical and emotionally compelling performances.
The A.V. Club by Courtney Howard
In Janney’s capable hands, our heroine is fully fleshed out, yet lean with more gristle on the bone than meat. She delivers zingy one-liners as well as she does a knock-out punch. Her refreshing spin on this archetype, blending masculine bravado and bluster with feminine wit and wisdom, elevates the spartan material.
Janney makes a great murderous curmudgeon, but the script’s big reveal strands the actress with a “layered” character who’s never given the chance to transcend the most basic aspects of her archetype. Worse: She only gets to kill like three people!
The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis
Methodically violent and more than a little silly, “Lou” delivers a kick in the head to ageism.
Wall Street Journal by John Anderson
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.
Though Lou is derivative and schematically plotted, it’s gripping enough to get away with it, thanks largely to Janney’s committed performance.
Los Angeles Times by Noel Murray
The plot races from one tense outdoor confrontation to the next, as “Lou” tells a simple but effective story about two women enduring the harshness of the elements and the machinations of violent men.
The sweetest comedy of the year.