Lost Girls

Lost Girls is a Netflix produced, dramatic thriller based on the true story, Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker. It is about activist Mari Gilbert's mission to find her daughter in 2010. Due to the Long Island, New York Police’s inaction, she ends up bringing national attention to over a dozen unsolved murdered sex workers in the area.

I had never heard this story before so I thought that the script was very interesting. It amazed me how incompetent the law enforcement where and how threats of leaking information to the press was the only way to get them moving on murders in their own town. It is also sad to know that these investigations are still open. I liked how they incorporated some real footage at the end of the movie to give it authenticity however the delivery of the majority of the plot was a bit slow moving. This almost would have been better as a 30 minute documentary on a local channel vs turning it into a 90 minute Netflix movie.

Themes around family, forgiveness, activism and moving forward were all present. The character development was good for Mari Gilbert but could have elaborated more on the co-stars. Amy Ryan did a great portrayal of Mari, a complicated character who was rough along the edges and didn't put up with much. She loved her daughters but struggled financially and it hurt her ability to be present as a mother, which caused her to carry around a lot of guilt for not being a good parent.

In the end I was left feeling like the movie was just okay. I think it is hard to feel satisfied with a film like this because of the fact that it is an unsolved murder mystery. Therefore, due to no fault of the writers own, I think it is worth checking out once but not worth watching again.