Lou takeaway: Is it another flagbearer of American patriotism in the garb of being led by a seemingly government-critical protagonist? (Spoilers)

Lou is the story of a lone woman who comes to the aid of her neighbor after the latter’s daughter gets kidnapped by her father.

The Anne Foerster directorial premiered on Netflix on Friday, September 23, 2022. As opposed to other spy films that tend to glorify the lives of such individuals, Lou presents a personal note.

It does not try and glorify the lives of spies like the glamorous The Gray Man-esque universe and their presumed chest-thumping nationalism. Instead, the film looks at the other side of the screen, where such individuals are left scarred from their jobs.

The film's official synopsis reads:

"A mysterious loner living a quiet life with her dog battles the elements and her own dark past when a neighbor’s little girl is kidnapped during the storm."

Set in the context of the 1953 coup in Iran, the film features Allison Janney in the titular role. It also stars Jurnee Smollett as Hannah, Ridley Bateman as Hannah’s daughter Vee, and Logan Marshall-Green as Vee’s father Philip.

The film begins with an overcast sky and an impending storm. The protagonist, Lou, goes into the woods and digs out a box that has photos of herself from the past, among others. She counts stashes of cash, burns a few documents, cleans a gun, and points the barrel under her chin.

The film basically begins with the titular character attempting suicide. The title card is followed by the sound of a gunshot, which was a deer that the protagonist hunted before she planned her suicide.

The scene then jumps back to how her day started. She goes to town and withdraws a large amount of cash from the bank as she rolls her eyes at the U.S. President denying its involvement in the 1953 coup in Iran.

The audience is also introduced to Lou's tenant Hannah and her daughter Vee.

On the same night, Vee is kidnapped by her father, Philip, a former U.S. military man who is also Lou's son. The latter, who is a former CIA agent, was posted in Tehran, Iran and told Hannah that she had to get close to a dangerous man there and adds that Philip was their son.

Here's what the Netflix film has to offer its audience.

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Lou presents one side to the lives of female spies who often carry the physical manifestation of their profession

As mentioned earlier, Philip was a result of the protagonist's relationship with a man who could have been her subject while she was posted in Iran. Thus, the former's origin seemed to be a bone of contention between the mother and son. However, Lou's feelings towards her son are unclear too as they often seem more calculative as opposed to those of care.

For instance, at the end of the film, the mother-son duo hug each other on the beach after a fight. They were both in tears but that is also when a helicopter with CIA officials appears in the sky and shoots at them.

Since Lou seems to be wearing a bullet-proof vest and uses Philip as a shield against the bullets, she is safe. Just seconds before they were shot at, she had whispered to her son, "I am sorry, kid."

Philip seems to be the scar that Lou carried with her forever. However, due to poor writing and consequent lack of foundation, not much was revealed about the mother and son's past. The only thing that the audience knows is that Philip was taken away by some "men" when he was a child.

Although his mother rescues him and sends him back to the U.S., Philip remains furious that she left him alone. Therefore, a wounded Philip could have wanted to seek revenge on his mother.

The protagonist also reveals to Hannah that she wanted to protect the latter and her daughter from Philip. She adds that she blackmailed the CIA into carrying out an investigation into Philip's crimes in El Ecuador.

The film answers the titular character's feelings for her son when she tells Hannah:

“I guess we all have been through things other people will never understand.”

With all this, Lou's character represented all the individuals who lived as spies abroad and carried the government's secrets to their graves. Secrets like the CIA and U.S. government’s involvement in stirring-up the coup in Iran in 1953. This resulted in the overthrowing of the democratically-elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq and replacing him with a monarchy that was in favor of the U.K. and the U.S.

Secrets like the American government bribing Iranian politicians, security, and army high-ranking officials, as well as pro-coup propaganda, in order to reach a favorable state.

As opposed to films like Taken, where the protagonist was also a male American agent with a family, Lou presents one side to the lives of female spies who have often had to carry the physical manifestation of their profession.

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Lou is currently streaming on Netflix.