In a film market dominated by superheroes, reboots, and the occasional Rom-Com, it is rare to find a film both original and revealing. Angie: Lost Girls seeks to do just that, a heart-wrenching drama with a touch of thrill, as it presents a social issue rarely spoken about: human trafficking.
While murder and robbery pass through our screens without a second thought, human trafficking is a crime deemed too heinous to be narrated. This is a disservice to our culture, for many learn and grapple with difficult concepts through the art of movie-making. The social impact from a film such as Angie: Lost Girls is something to seize onto, and seize this film did.
Orchestrated by JULIA VERDIN’S dynamic directing, Angie: Lost Girls pulls us into the life of Angie Morgan, well played by Jane Widdop. She’s young and sweet, driven by her love for music and the potential of it being something more, no matter how much she plays off her talents. It’s when she meets boyish Mario (Dylan Sprayberry) that her world begins to unfurl, the demure and religious teen now sneaking out at night to meet up with—and kiss—Mario. He is, however, the is the one who ultimately pulls her into the world of human trafficking, bringing her in under the guise that his uncle knows the world of music. From this point on, the horrors of human trafficking never stop. We watch Angie get beat, raped, and thrown onto dirty mattresses to sleep as her skin becomes marred with bruises and her eyes encircled with dark rings. (She later reveals that she would be raped 20-30 times a day, sending a shiver down my spine that remained for the rest of the run time). Her only solace is another girl, Zoe (Lindsey Da Sylveira) who promises to protect Angie despite being prostituted herself…
