Gone Girls continues heartbreaking true story of Lost Girls on Netflix

Lost Girls was a searing drama based on the true story of one mother's fight for justice. The Gone Girls documentary series expands on that story with the benefit of all that's been revealed in the past five years—and it's been a lot.

Let me be upfront here, fam. Neither of these shows is going to top your list of feel-good entertainment. The movie Lost Girls and the three-part series Gone Girls are so intertwined that I had to review both. For one thing, they cover the same story, although the newly released documentary goes into much more detail than the movie.

Liz Garbus directed both the movie and the series, so she brings a very special sensibility to the documentary. The 2020 film was her first narrative work, but it's so artfully crafted that you'd never know it. She had directed dozens of documentaries before this, including Love, Marilyn, Becoming Cousteau, and What Happened, Miss Simone? The brilliant examination of the battles that Nina Simone faced is also on Netflix, and it's worth your time, too.

Netflix gives us two looks at the tragic story of the Gone Girls

Let's take a look at Lost Girls first. It stars Amy Ryan as the mother of Shannan Gilbert, a young woman who went missing on Long Island on May 1, 2010. For reasons that soon become clear, the police decline to put much effort into the investigation of her disappearance (spoiler, but not much of one: she was a sex worker).

Lost Girls follows the story of her mom, Mari Gilbert, as she fights first the police, and then for anyone to listen. And even more, to care.

As Brian Tallerico wrote for rogerebert.com in his review, Garbus avoids the usual tropes here. There's no deep-state conspiracy of sex traffickers running out of a pizza parlor. No doubt, that's because the story is based on reality. In particular, it's based on the grim reality that in so many cases - certainly the case of Shannan Gilbert and the other victims - sex workers are treated as less than real people. No, there was no conspiracy here, just incompetence and an uncaring justice system.

The story isn't completely satisfying. There is no neatly wrapped-up ending, with David Tennant wrapping up the case or Denzel Washington meting out justice. What there is is a gripping film that tells an important story and features a terrific performance by Amy Ryan.

I recognized her immediately, but it still took a few minutes for my brain to say, yes, this anguished, gutted human being was also Holly Flax, who whisked Michael Scott away from the final season of The Office. I suppose that's why they call it acting.

Gone Girls expands on the story of the Long Island murders. Yes, murders plural, as the disappearance of Shannan Gilbert was just the first spark in a flame that eventually consumed the community. The first episode retells much of Mari's fight for justice, but from the perspective of journalists who covered the story. Sadly, Shannan was by no means the first woman to go missing.

The second episode covers much more ground, delving into the investigation, such as it was. Without spoiling too much, I think it's fair to say that neither the police nor the district attorney's office took the case too seriously at first. As the case became more cases, the concern grew, but the competence apparently dropped. They didn't precisely have Enola Holmes on the case to begin with.

The benefit of taking another look at the story five years later is that we finally get something close to closure on the story. If this had been a grand adventure, think of episode 2 as part side quest, part exposition. It moves the story along and plays a key role. But episode 3 has the payoff. A prime suspect emerges, and you'll just have to watch it yourself for the rest.

I'd stay away from reviews of the series, as virtually every one gives away far too much of the story. After you've seen episode 2, it'll be safe to take a look. But trust me, you won't have to. You'll already know you've seen peak television again on Netflix: you and everyone else who made it the number 1 show on Netflix this week.

For those who can't get enough of true crime, Gone Girls is what you've been waiting for. And for those who prefer the fictionalized version, you can't go wrong with Lost Girls.

More Netflix news and reviews: