Unsated curiosity after watching a dramatization of real-life events — that rush to Google names, faces and dates — is quite frequently a validation of the importance or intrigue of a subject. But a movie like “Lost Girls,” about the victims of the never-found Long Island serial killer, highlights the possibility that some stories inspire questions because they aren’t especially well told.
Award-winning filmmaker Liz Garbus (“The Fourth Estate”) vividly captures the outrage and desperation of a mother seeking answers from indifferent authorities after her daughter disappears. Still, it’s hard to know if Garbus’ overwrought portrayal of these crimes and their aftermath depicts the actual investigation fairly, or if the former documentarian sacrificed accuracy for what proves to be short-term emotional effect.