The Lost Girls

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I really did. The premise seemed solid and the artwork appealing. Vanessa Redgrave and Joley Richardson should be paid damages for having to list this on their resumes. I don't think even Emma Thompson could've salvaged it if she'd gone through with it. Livia's directing was only slightly better than her acting and both made "Llamageddon" look like an Oscar contender. The wig on the youngest Wendy was absolutely awful. The jumps between certain scenes didn't flow at all. The interaction between most of the actors just wasn't believable. I tried to like it. I forced myself to finish for the sake of the people I assume worked really hard to try and make something of it other than a showcase of Livia de Paolis' "talents". Don't make the same mistake. Unless you just really hate yourself.

I hate to be harsh but Livia De Paolis is just not meant to act. She tried, boy did she try, but it never flowed with her. Her writing also left something to be desired. She was losing me when she was a middle aged woman attempting to portray a 22 year old who just graduated from college. She officially lost me when she was pregnant in the field with Peter. The other actors did fairly well, but it comes off as unnatural for everyone that shared a scene with her. Even her narrating sounds forced. I did like the premise of the film, the damage the females faces in the aftermath of their experience in a somewhat utopia type environment.

I have NEVER written a review on here before but felt compelled to let everyone know that it's a shame that the worst actress in this movie is also the writer and director. So much promise in the beginning and then it instantly went downhill into an abyss. Thank goodness the teenage Wendy has redeemed herself in House of the Dragon. Didn't make sense after adult Wendy came on and her dialogue was absolutely ridiculous. Her timing and responses were so odd! I kept watching it hoping it would somehow get better, but nope, just worse. I'm so shocked that Vanessa Redgrave agreed to do this movie at all.

I really liked this film. I have been a Peter Pan fan my entire life, ever since I read the book almost 60 years ago. The film was obviously made on a budget, but the story touched me beyond words. I have ordered the book. There seems to be so much more to this tale. Don't let the negative reviews get in your way. Exploring the girls in the Darling family and their ongoing relationship with Pan is intriguing. Also, the mental health aspect and reality vs fantasy. Vanessa Redgrave was stunning (as usual) in her role. The rest of the acting was just ok, but if you look beyond the superficial, the underlying story is just moving, IMO. Just as at the end of the Peter Pan book I cried because Wendy had to grow up, this film ending affected me the same way.

I rarely write reviews, but as a lifelong fan of Peter Pan and usually excited to see new takes or variations on it, I thought I might enjoy this, but, no. The script was all over the place but maybe, maybe it could have been salvaged by a decent actress (not sure on that), unfortunately the main character was just not good. Did they think no one would notice that child/teen Wendy went from sounding like English was her first language to an actress who did not sound like English was their first language? It was so odd. The movie was so terrible that I was fast forwarding and when I heard adult Wendy talk the first time I wondered if I'd accidentally skipped a part where child Wendy moved to another country and had to re-learn English as an adult.

I read the bad reviews and still kept watching...and then I got to the adult Wendy that everyone keeps lamenting ("It's the bugs!"). They're 100% right. The ridiculous dance scene with Adam was so cringe. I turned it off 5 min after she enters the picture. Also, adult Wendy's accent is absurd. It switches from American to British to something like French-Italian in the same scenes. She should be ashamed of this mess of a movie along whoever green lighted it. I'll let bad movies run in the background while I do light work or house chore. But this movie isn't worthy of letting it play in the background while you do your laundry.

Vanessa Redgrave as the original Wendy; Redgrave's daughter Joely Richardson as Wendy's daughter Jane; Iain Glen's Hook (cool three-piece suit and leer); and Parker Sawyers (young Barack Obama in "Southside with You"), charming as the husband of Wendy's granddaughter. Ella-Rae Smith, who completes the quartet of Darling women, might be a star in the making; she's a believable rebel against their long obsession with Peter Pan and the dreams/delusions he embodies. "The Lost Girls" could have been a real success with a more sympathetic performance from de Paolis, who writes and directs and plays the younger Wendy. She's okay; she just doesn't pull you in as the lead character needs to. It's still pretty impressive that she assembled such distinguished actors and created a touching, good-looking film while working during the worst of Covid. See it with your mama and grandmama and teenage daughter.

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