Lost Girls Parent Guide

When her daughter Shannan (Sarah Wisser) goes missing, Mari Gilbert (Amy Ryan) immediately starts pushing the police to investigate. As time goes by, the outlook starts looking worse and worse- until the police find four bodies dumped next to the Ocean Parkway in New York. With the help of her daughter Sherre (Thomasin McKenzie) and the families of some of the murdered girls, Mari drives Police Commissioner Richard Dorman (Gabriel Byrne) to run the kind of investigation he should have been running all along.

Based on the true story of the Long Island serial killer (who has yet to be officially identified), this is a movie with some seriously dark subject matter. It is, however, refreshing to see a movie about serial killers that is so thoroughly invested in the victims. This isn’t a police thriller, where some grizzled detective and his new partner interrogate creeps and walk down dark alleys with guns drawn. This is a tragedy about a woman whose family is coming apart at the seams, worsened by the disappearance and death of her daughter.

The film also brings attention to an interesting fact: serial killers tend to target sex workers. Women engaged in prostitution, especially on the street, are particularly vulnerable, and the social stigma against them and their occupation means that response from the community and the police can be brutally slow. Lost Girls really focuses on that pitiful response, forcing viewers to be aware of the consequences of that disinterest and lack of compassion for some of the most at-risk members of our communities.

Amy Ryan delivers powerfully in her performance as a tormented mother, battling both her own inadequacies and a system that seems completely uninterested in her daughter’s disappearance. Mari is a very compelling character, not despite her flaws, but because of them. Her (at times) abrasive determination and dedication make her absolutely fascinating to watch.

But, sadly, Lost Girls isn’t especially suitable for family viewing due primarily to its frequent profanity and mature subject matter. But for a movie about a serial killer who targets sex workers, there is remarkably little other content. There is no direct violence, sexual content, or drug use. That in itself is fairly unusual, even more so for a movie in this genre. If you can get past the profanity, there is a deeply human story with a pointed social commentary that makes this one of Netflix’s stronger offerings.