Lost Girls Review: A Heart-Rending and a Well-Narrated Story!

Usually, all murder mystery films revolve around how a case is investigated and is solved to the very end. It deals with the nuances, shreds of evidence, and the person who committed the crime. Netflix’s new Original Lost Girls is based on a real-life murder that remains a mystery. Directed by Liz Garbus, the movie includes a very powerful cast with Amy Ryan, Thomasin McKenzie, Gabriel Byrne, and Reed Birney to name a few. The narrative is based on a book of the same name by Robert Kolker and the movie, before making its way to Netflix, had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 28, 2020.

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The storyline of Lost Girls explores the life of a single mother – Mari Gilbert, who is desperately trying to find her missing daughter – Shannon after she mysteriously disappeared. Initially, the police do not take Mari seriously, because she comes from a poor background and because her missing daughter was into a profession that is considered, – unethical and stigmatized. The remainder of the film focuses on Mari as she tries to find her daughter and seek justice all by herself.

The entire purpose of Lost Girls is not only concentrated on the investigation part of the narrative, but it also emphasizes and fixates on how women’s stories are dismissed and neglected. It also sheds light on how people who are not so privileged aren’t given equal consideration like the members of the upper crust. As it’s not about how many women were killed by the Long Island Serial Killer, but also of how many more women who are still dead and undiscovered.

Lost Girls deals with a much bigger concept than death and director – Liz Garbus did a decent job in showcasing these equally significant details. However, it mainly directs on only one mother’s fury and grit to find out what happened to her missing daughter as I felt that the demonstration of that anger against the system was unnecessary and was a little selfish. Here, the movie seemed to miss the bigger picture. The script and screen-writing could have been better as I did feel that some pieces of the puzzle went missing. Not just the Gilberts, every victim and their families deserved better.

Moving on to the performances, Amy Ryan’s brave and powerful performance is worth watching as you can feel her pain and rage throughout the movie. The 19-year old actress – Thomasin McKenzie also gave an equally commendable performance as the daughter of Ryan and is impressive inside and out.

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Overall, Lost Girls was unsatisfying towards the end as the mystery remained unsolved. So, if you are looking for a proper and decisive ending, you will be left frustrated. But, it is a well-narrated story and my heart goes out to all the victim’s families. Watch ‘Lost Girls’ on Netflix here.

‘Lost Girls’ Rating – 3.5/5 | Grade – B+

Images via Netflix