Film Review - "Where The Crawdad Sings"

I'm as surprised as you are.

Where The Crawdad Sings

Directed by Olivia Newman

Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith, and David Strathairn

I saw the trailer for this film months ago and didn't give it much of a second-thought. You see "Based on The Best-Selling Novel" flash across the screen these days there's a 50-50 chance it's not gonna go well.

Then I happened to catch it back on National Cinema Day, and surprisingly I found Where The Crawdad Sings to be a captivating and suspenseful thriller.  

So again, based on the best-selling novel Delia Owens (Which I have not and probably will not read because I'm a slow reader and it takes me three years to finish one book), the film tells the story of Catherine "Kya" Clark (Jones) and her life growing up in the marshes of North Carolina. The townspeople of Barkley Cove look at her as an eccentric recluse, nicknaming her "Marsh Girl". In the present timeline of 1969, she stands trial for murder of her former boyfriend Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson), and kindly attorney Tom Milton (Strathairn) defends her when no one else will.

As the trial unfolds, we learn of her life growing up in the marsh with her abusive father, and how her mother and siblings each ran from home, and abandoning her, one-by-one (Rather bizarrely I might add, like why is no one taking her with them??). Her father eventually passes away, thus leaving her to fend for herself at only seven years old. She survives selling muscles in town, and is assisted frequently by local shopkeeps James and Mabel Madison (Sterling Mace Jr. and Micheal Hyatt).

Soon a local boy named Tate Walker (Smith) takes a liking to Kya and helps her learn to read and write, while the two grow closer, and we also start to learn how Kya and Chase's relationship developed as well...

The mystery of the film is very compelling, as you truly get invested in the past, and wonder how it leads to the trial in the present. The relationship between the three leads is incredibly fleshed out. It is a love triangle, yes, but there's more at play beneath the surface. The conflict is in incredibly well-developed, tackling all four "flavors" of conflict in literature (That's man vs man, nature, society, and self). Man Vs Nature is probably the strongest in the film, as Kya's relationship with the marshes makes her an outcast and oddity to her peers.

While on the subject of nature, the film has a lot of beautiful visuals, perfectly capturing the beauty and sometimes sinister nature of the North Carolina marshlands (I don't want to know if it was partially CGI, or touched up in post. I just don't.) 

I would say the film's biggest flaw is its pacing. It wants to go back and forth between the past and present, but we spend so much in the past, we can almost forget in the present there's a trial and Kya's life hands in the balance. That and the present day scenes just aren't as interesting.

Daisy Edgar-Jones is perfectly cast as Kya, encapsulating the sweet innocence of the character but also the strength and independence. Taylor John Smith is a likable leading man as Tate Walker with a lot of heart, but there's also some naivety to the character. Not enough to make you annoyed with him, but enough to give him more depth (Side-note, this guy could play a live-action Kristoff when Disney starts getting remake eyes for Frozen). You absolutely love to hate Harris Dickinson as Chase Andrews. It's not over-the-top villainy but he makes a perfect antagonist. David Starthairn is just likable in everything he does.

I was surprised to find Where The Crawdad Sings to be an enjoyable time at the theater. It has some beautiful visuals, a compelling mystery, and a suspenseful drama with some truly harrowing scenes throughout. I never expected to find myself seeing a film like this (On National Cinema Day no less!) but I'm glad I did, and will probably rewatch this down the line.

...What's that? ...This film received poor reviews from critics?...The author of the book is problematic and may or may not be a murderer?...Where The Crawdad Sings might be rooted in realism and clue us in to what Delia Owens was doing as conservationist in Zimbabwe?...Well I still liked it.