| Lost Girls | |
|---|---|
 Official poster | |
| Directed by | Liz Garbus |
| Screenplay by | Michael Werwie |
| Based on | Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery byRobert Kolker |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Igor Martinovic |
| Edited by | Camilla Toniolo |
| Music by | Anne Nikitin |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 95 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Lost Girls is a 2020 Americanmysterydrama film.Lost Girls was directed byLiz Garbus, from a screenplay by Michael Werwie, and based on the non-fiction bookLost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery byRobert Kolker. The film revolves around the murders of young female sex workers, whose bodies are found on the South Shore barrier islands ofLong Island. These deaths are believed to have been committed by a suspect referred to as theLong Island serial killer. A male suspect was charged for several deaths on July 14, 2023.
Lost Girls starsAmy Ryan asMari Gilbert, the mother of Shannan Gilbert and an activist on her behalf. Other actors includeThomasin McKenzie,Lola Kirke,Oona Laurence,Dean Winters,Miriam Shor,Reed Birney,Kevin Corrigan, andGabriel Byrne. The film premiered at theSundance Film Festival on January 28, 2020, and was later released on March 13, 2020, byNetflix.
Mari Gilbert relentlessly drives law enforcement agents to search for her missing daughter, Shannan. In the process, numerous bodies are found of victims of unsolved murders of young sex workers on the South Shore barrier islands of Long Island. These are attributed to theLong Island serial killer.[2]
In March 2016, it was announced thatLiz Garbus would direct the film, from a screenplay by Michael Werwie, based on the book of the same name byRobert Kolker.Kevin McCormack, David Kennedy, Rory Koslow, Amy Nauiokas, and Anne Carey served as producers on the film, while Pamela Hirsch executive produced.Amazon Studios was initially set to distribute.[4] In February 2017,Sarah Paulson was set to star in the film as real-life activistMari Gilbert.[5] In May 2018,Amy Ryan replaced Paulson, andNetflix was set as the distributor.[6] In October 2018,Thomasin McKenzie (who dropped out ofTop Gun: Maverick (2022) to work on the film),Gabriel Byrne,Oona Laurence,Lola Kirke,Miriam Shor,Reed Birney,Kevin Corrigan and Rosal Colon joined the cast.[7][8]
Principal photography began on October 15, 2018, inNew York City.[9]
The film had its world premiere at theSundance Film Festival on January 28, 2020,[10] and was released on March 13, 2020, byNetflix.[11]
Lost Girls holds a 72% approval rating on the review aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, based on 54 reviews, with an average of 6.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Raw yet rewarding,Lost Girls overcomes uneven storytelling with powerful performances and a willingness to resist easy catharsis."[12] OnMetacritic, the film holds a rating of 69 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[13]
