The Steamy Alexandra Daddario Thriller You Can Stream On Hulu
Since her breakout role in the Percy Jackson film series, Alexandra Daddario has blossomed into a bona fide scene stealer, both in duds ("Baywatch") and gems ("True Detective") alike. In 2022, the actor earned an Emmy nomination for her performance in Season 1 of HBO's "The White Lotus."
Daddario has shown off her leading lady chops in a number of films, including "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" and "We Summon the Darkness," but "Lost Girls & Love Hotels" might be her strongest performance yet. Now, the erotic thriller drama is available to stream on Hulu.
Adapted by Catherine Hanrahan from her novel of the same name, "Lost Girls & Love Hotels" stars Daddario as Margaret, an American living in Tokyo. During the day, she works at an academy training flight attendants, but at night, Margaret staves off loneliness with alcohol and encounters with men at the illicit love hotels that dot the city. She soon begins an affair with Kazu (Takehiro Hira), a soft-spoken enforcer for the Yakuza.
Lost Girls & Love Hotels explores the fifty shades of Tokyo
With its portrayal of anonymous hookups and S&M scenarios, "Lost Girls & Love Hotels" will likely appeal to fans of "Fifty Shades of Grey," though it is an altogether moodier, more atmospheric affair, thanks to director William Olsson. While it was shot in 2017, "Lost Girls & Love Hotels" wasn't released until 2020, when it went straight to VOD. With its inclusion on Hulu, the film will likely experience a spike in viewership.
"Lost Girls & Love Hotels" should be especially appealing to Alexandra Daddario fans. Indeed, the actor has been praised for the role, which Filmhounds Magazine called "her best performance to date." Added Peter Bradshaw for The Guardian, "Daddario's performance as the vulnerable, secretive yet emotionally open Margaret is smart." Nonetheless, Daddario's performance couldn't save the film entirely, and "Lost Girls & Love Hotels" has an even 50% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Despite the film's mention of the yakuza, it was important to screenwriter Catherine Hanrahan that it didn't become the focal point. "I didn't want it to become a sort of crime thriller," she told Comic Book Movie. "I wanted to keep that foggy and hazy, his whole background and his job." Rather, "Lost Girls & Love Hotels" is more of a character study of Margaret, who is as melancholy as she is hard-partying.