Image by Lauren Ward

 

 

The new Netflix film Lost Girls is a harrowing but eye-opening tale of a mother desperate to find her missing daughter. Oscar nominee nominee Amy Ryan plays Mari Gilbert, whose determined investigation shockingly reveals the murders of more than a dozen young sex workers, shining a light on the failures of the media, as well as law enforcement’s inability to protect them.

It’s directed by two-time Oscar nominee Liz Garbus—previously known for The Fourth Estate and What Happened, Miss Simone?—who not only cast Mozart in the Jungle star Lola Kirke in the film, but also enlisted her musical talents. And so her stunning cover of “Beautiful Dreamer” soundtracks the film’s opening credits. The Stephen Foster classic was most famously recorded by Bing Crosby in 1940, and The Beatles in 1963; but Kirke gives it a haunted, melancholy quality that seems to completely reimagine its essence.

“Liz was using a different version of the song during editing,” recalls Kirke, whose latest EP Friends, Foes and Friends Again was released in September. “She remembered that I sing, and asked if I’d be interested in recording it. I loved the idea because of the way the song is woven in the story of the film and the role I play. I was honored to be asked.”

Lost Girls also stars Gabriel Byrne, Thomasin McKenzie and Dean Winters, and is currently streaming on Netflix.