Lost Angel (2022) Film Review
The effective device in the film Lost Angel is revealed very quickly. At first, all we think as viewers is that the film will use its supernatural element to solve every riddle that comes along with its very cryptic plot. And it actually happens at some point. Fortunately, Simon Drake, the man behind the film, isn’t vulgar when it comes to using a ghost in a storyline that doesn’t call for it. Lost Angel is first a film about loss and the human drive for finding answers. And second, it’s a film about a woman who cleverly seeks the help of a ghost to investigate.
In any case, you may find yourself in the grip of a very small thriller that doesn’t attempt to bend the genre rules and change what you expect from it. Everything you think that happens, actually happens. Then again, why question what always works?
Centered around the performance of Sascha Harman, Lost Angel is the story of Lisa, a woman who returns home to the small island of Newpoint when her sister mysteriously dies. She isn’t satisfied with the poor police investigation so she sets out on her own. Accompanied by a young man called Rich, she connects Melanie’s death to a criminal scheme she was connected with. Lisa goes on a mission to find the truth behind Melanie’s death but she finds more than she can handle.
And, did I mention Rich is a ghost?
Lost Angel isn’t a simple film. But it’s executed at a pace that makes every scene repetitive and overly dramatic. It’s why it feels too slow at some point when Lisa’s character is continuously submitted to the possibility of a mystery. The second act is excessive at stating there’s a chance Melanie was part of something huge. When it surpasses this, the film accelerates a bit and goes from dull to stirring in a matter of seconds.
However, you can’t help but feel part of something that could have been more original in regards to the cinematic experience. Lost Angel feels like an episode of an average TV show that has to deliver a dramatic situation week after week. Not even Lisa’s relationship with Rich becomes an interesting one. The fact that he’s a ghost could turn the film sideways and point in another direction. But Drake decides to stay within his boundaries and focus solely on Lisa’s struggle to find the truth. All the way through the end.
It’s when Lost Angel saves itself from oblivion. A third act that attempts the impossible and does whatever at hand to inject strength into Lisa’s character. She’s no longer a victim of a larger scheme. She’s a mirrored image of her sister that actually breaks the rules and shows the true face of evil. It’s a standard move in thrillers, but in Lost Angel you care enough for the main characters to root for them and wish they can save themselves.
And then Lost Angel” enters its long epilogue with lots of “false” fade outs. Lisa finds all the pieces and puts them together and serves justice and delivers news. She has found peace and the film is excessive when delivering this message.
