Lou Trailer: Allison Janney Gets Her Own Action Movie

Academy Award and Emmy Award-winner Allison Janney ("Mom," "I, Tonya") is adding action star to her very long resume with the upcoming Netflix film "Lou." The streamer just released a new trailer for the film in which she co-stars with Jurnee Smollett ("Birds of Prey," "Underground"). 

In "Lou," Janney plays a woman who has left a life of danger behind her, and has settled into a normal existence. That all changes when the mother of a kidnapped daughter (Smollett) begs her to help bring the child home. They'll have to risk everything to survive the rescue mission, a massive storm, and test their own limits to pull this off. Also starring in the film are Logan Marshall-Green ("The Invitation," "Prometheus") and Ridley Asha Bateman ("Shattered"). 

Janney trained for "Lou" with fight choreographer Daniel Bernhardt at the 87Eleven studio, where Charlize Theron trained for "Atomic Blonde," and Halle Berry trailed for "John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum." If the fight scenes in "Lou" are anywhere even close to either of those movies, it should be a blast to watch Janney pull it off. A report on the film from 2018 describes it as "Thelma and Louise" meets "Taken," which is promising as far as action goes.

The acting work Janney does always has a very "lived-in" feel to it, as though she's always been this person. Obviously that's what all actors go for, but there is something about each of her roles that feel like a comfortable sweater. The idea of watching her take down a kidnapper while dealing with a past she left behind is filling a need I didn't know I had. 

"Lou" is directed by Anna Foerster ("Underworld: Blood Wars"), who was the director of photography for "White House Down" and a frequent collaborator of Roland Emmerich. She's directed episodes of "Criminal Minds" and "Outlander," including the difficult, but incredibly powerful episode "To Ransom a Man's Soul." 

The screenplay comes to us from Maggie Cohn and Jack Stanley. Producing are Bad Robot's JJ Abrams, Hannah Minghella, and Jon Cohen. Janney and Smollett will executive produce. Here is the official logline for the film: 

A storm rages. A young girl is kidnapped. Her mother (Jurnee Smollett) teams up with the mysterious woman next door (Allison Janney) to pursue the kidnapper – a journey that tests their limits and exposes shocking secrets from their pasts.

"Lou" will premiere on Netflix on September 23, 2022.