Lost Girls is worth finding
Review Lost Girls (13+, 95 mins) Directed by Liz Garbus Reviewed by James Croot ★★★★
Best-known here as the movie Kiwi actor Thomasin McKenzie traded working with Tom Cruise for, it’s easy to see why this true crime drama appealed to her and Netflix.
A haunting and harrowing tale of women in a danger zone, Lost Girls boasts a maverick lead character and at least one moment that will take your breath away.
Based on Robert Kolker’s critically acclaimed 2013 bestselling book of the same name, Lost Girls looks at the fallout from the death of Shannan Gilbert. In truth, it’s the story of her mother Mari (the always compelling Amy Ryan) and her desperate and unrelenting search for justice.
A digger operator in Ellenville, New York, she and her two other daughters Sherre (McKenzie) and Sarra (Oona Laurence) had been looking forward to seeing Shannan for the first time in a while.
Initially, her dinner no-show just seems like the latest disappointment she’s provided her family with.
But after her concerned boyfriend contacts Sherre and a mysterious ‘‘doctor’’ asks as to her whereabouts, the remaining Gilberts decide to raise the alarm.
After getting no joy from the Jersey City police, Mari and the girls track down Shannan’s beau and ‘‘driver’’, learning the unsettling truth that she wasn’t ‘‘selling girl scout cookies’’, but working as a sex worker in and around the South Shore barrier islands of Long Island.
After piecing together her last known movements, Maria heads to the Suffolk Island police, only to be shocked by their attitude.
‘‘Just because she’s hasn’t come home, doesn’t mean it’s a fivealarm fire,’’ chides one detective. ‘‘Then why was her last call 23 minutes to 911?’’ Marie fires back, incensed that it apparently took the cops more than an hour to respond, despite her daughter’s panicked voice emanating from a coastal, gated community in the middle of the night.
Frustrated by their casual attitude, Mari vows to keep pressing them to investigate, by whatever means necessary.
‘‘I’ve been hung up on, dismissed, ignored – but the one thing I won’t be is silenced. I’m going to raise more hell than you can handle.’’
While the compelling drama has echoes of the likes of Changeling, Gone Baby Gone or Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, it’s director Liz Garbus’ (best known for documentaries Bobby Fisher Against the World and What Happened, Miss Simone?) skilful weaving in of real-life footage that adds a vital extra layer of authenticity.
The opening titles describe it as ‘‘an unsolved American mystery’’ and that means viewers need to be prepared for an emotional gut punch, rather than a neat resolution. Yes, there will be tears and rage before bedtime.
Given the slim running time, Michael Werwie’s (Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile) script is somewhat slight, but still satisfyingly taut and allows the likes of Ryan (Gone Baby Gone, Changeling) , McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit) and Gabriel Byrne (The Usual Suspects), as the world-weary commissioner in Mari’s firing line, moments to shine. An understated drama well worth seeking out.
Lost Girls is streaming now on Netflix.