Lost Girls

A very important story but it should have been a documentary not a feature film.

It's 2010. Mari Gilbert (Amy Ryan) is a struggling single mom in Ellenville, New York. Her youngest Sarra has issues. Her oldest Shannan goes missing. She takes her daughters, Sarra and Sherre (Thomasin McKenzie), to Long Island where Shannan was last seen. Police detective Dean Bostick (Dean Winters) dismisses her due to Shannan being a prostitute. Then a police dog stumbles upon the bodies of four dead prostitutes. Police commissioner Richard Dormer (Gabriel Byrne) takes over the investigation. Mari grows frustrated and decides to take on the entire closed-off community.

I hate to do this to a true story movie but it doesn't have a satisfying ending. As it stands, I need a re-enactment of that night and Shannan's final moments. I need to know who 'they' are. I need a lot of things that is missing in the real life story. I can't blame the movie for not showing things that are unknown in real life. I can blame it for not knowing the best ending of this movie. The best ending must be Mari's murder by her daughter Sarra. This is not Shannan's movie. This is Mari's movie and Amy Ryan's great performance proves it time and again. She electrifies this movie. She is the heart and soul of this movie. This is Mari's movie and it ends when she ends.

I stumbled upon 'Lost Girls' tonight on Netflix and thought it looked interesting so decided to give it a look. I wasn't aware of the story behind it and I wasn't aware that it was based on true events. The main thing you'll notice when watching this movie is that is has an agenda, and it pushes it very heavily - and I liked that because it was personal. When a film just picks an agenda and decides to shove it in your face, that's garbage. But that isn't what happened here. This movie has a reason to be anti-police based on the real-life happenings and it wants people to know that. I think it found a good balance between getting its point across and also making sure it didn't consume the movie.

If you asked people to list all the Oscar nominated actresses who appeared in 'The Office' I think a lot would forget to put Amy Ryan on their list. She is though and 'Lost Girls' is further proof that when she is given the material to work with she can act her backside off. Her performance means a lot to this movie because she is the driving force behind almost every scene. If she wasn't able to pull it off the movie would fail, simple as that. She is terrific.

If you don't know anything about the real-life events this is based on then this film works very well as a mystery-drama. If you do know about them then I would suggest you're still going to enjoy this film, just in a different way. Don't come in expecting action scenes and over-the-top drama thrown in for the sake of it. This is a low-key, understated film that just goes about its business and does so wonderfully well. I had a great time with this movie and I suggest you will too.

Acting is overall good. Photo is good. But to tell this whole story in 1h 30mins is impossible. And that affects the outcome. It results in not getting to know the characters, there are gaps in the story and overall it is shallow. They could have done so much more with this (sad) story so it could have been developed into a mini series maybe. I would have liked more focus on the investigation. More focus on the characters living in Oak Beach. More on the daughters relation to their mother. And so on. Intent is good but it doesn't reach whole way through.

Excellent Netflix film based on real events, I don't say that very often. Dolby Vision and 4K has made viewing films like this a very realistic proposition which makes them more horrowing and thought provoking. Amy Ryan is magnificent as Mari a crusading mother trying to find out what happened to her estranged daughter Shannan, ably supported by her two daughters. Police only stumble across two bodies by mistake which takes her to a strange private community called Gilko Beach(The True Location). Gabriel Byrne plays Commissioner Dorman a cop whos at the twilight of his career, he forms a cat & dog relationship with Mari. Mari forms friendships with the mothers and daughters at a wake, where they try to seek justice. This won't be bettered this year for its realism and passion and superb acting. A Must See!