Where the Crawdads Sing
Abandoned by her family, Kya raises herself all alone in the marshes outside of her small town. When her former boyfriend is found dead, Kya is instantly branded by the local townspeople and law enforcement as the prime suspect for his murder.
- Released: 2022-06-23
- Runtime: 120 minutes
- Genre: Drama, Mystery
- Stars: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith, Harris Dickinson, Michael Hyatt, Sterling Macer Jr, David Strathairn, Ahna O'Reilly, Garret Dillahunt, Jayson Warner Smith, Jojo Regina, Eric Ladin, Joe Chrest, Logan Macrae, Luke David Blumm, Charlie Talbert, Jojo Regina, Jayson Warner Smith, Billy Slaughter, Sterling Macer Jr, Robert Larriviere, Caroline Cole, Bill Kelly, Blue Clarke, Sarah Durn, Suzette Lange, Jerri Tubbs, Mike Harkins, Wyatt Parker, Taylor Shurte, Elton LeBlanc, Michael Wozniak, Grace Hinson, Will Bundon, Emma Willoughby, Michael A. Newcomer, Patrick Nicks, Brad Blanchard, Steve Kish, Jerri Tubbs, Lillian Dorsett, Anna Kabis, Zoey Reid
- Director: Olivia Newman, Olivia Newman, Olivia Newman
Comments
- beckyjrogers - 15 June 2024
Beautiful but rushed
The cinematography, showing us the beauty of the marshes, is great and this is pretty well-acted, but it is so rushed! There's no way to really get a sense of the characters as they only feature fleetingly and their parts lack subtlety in order to hammer home who they are and their role in Kaya's journey. All the details that enhance the original story are missing and the background story is so rushed that it is hard to understand why the characters do what they do. For example, we don't see the young Kaya interacting with her brother which would enable us to understand their bond and the importance of his return. Nor do we see much of the relationship with Tate either when she's 15 or later, which would have us rooting for him. I imagine the story will end up being televised so it gets the time it needs to really show off the story and to make more sense of it. - willr-77872 - 22 May 2024
No Mystery; Just Unspeakable Deception and Immorality
I wish it was possible to give this film zero stars (maybe even negative stars); or that it had been "spoiled" for me from the beginning.
Other negative reviews fuss over how the story of a young girl getting abandoned or left in an abusive situation are implausible. Plus, why does it look like this actress showers on a regular basis, keeps all of her dental appointments, and where are all the mosquitoes in the swamp? Um, how about the fact that Catherine/Kya is Satan incarnate?
The positive reviews somehow use the word beauty over and over. If I had known about the plot "twist" or the subversion at the end of the story, then I wouldn't have wasted my time watching the movie.
I must have joined the story when the trial had already started. If I were to watch it back again, the scenes of Kya's life would come across completely different. It wasn't wholesome how she bonded with the virtuous and decent guy who selflessly wanted to teach her how to read. She just wanted someone who would keep her secret and give her a good life after she committed her crime.
Chase was immediately creepy, and I kept saying no to the television screen. You could reinterpret all of those scenes to where she was always the one manipulating him. Instead of going to the police at any time, she knew that she could always trade punches with him, smash him in the head with a nearby rock or seashell, or continue to kick and beat him after he was stunned or laying on the ground. Basically, she inflicted more violence upon him than anything he was able to do to her. Did she know the whole time that he was a "player" and seeing multiple women?
Then, she's allowed to be judge, jury, and executioner, but you as the viewer are supposed to give her a free pass, or to understand her motives and the self-righteous ways she wanted to justify her actions. Nature supersedes law enforcement and the criminal justice system. All that matters is ensuring your own survival.
I don't think they show you how she pulled off every detail of the crime. Her defense lawyer's explanation tells you how preposterous and premeditated it had to be. Pick some dates when high tide would wash away any footprints from the sand/mud. Make sure it's on a day when someone will witness you getting on a morning bus to leave town. Check into a different hotel from the one where a group of book publishers are staying. Sneak out of that hotel wearing a disguise. Board another bus back into town, but at a time when no one can identify you (as if dozens of people travel on the late bus?). Remove the disguise (?) and lure this guy up on a high tower/platform. Leave no fingerprints, or take the time to remove them. Take a physical item from the victim's body, and hide it where the police will never look for it. Disguise yourself again, and board a third bus back to your original destination. Meet with the book publishers as planned, and act in a way that never causes them to suspect that you recently witnessed a crime. No guilty conscience at all.
You'd have to be one of the most wicked people on planet Earth to perpetrate what Kya did and manage to get acquitted by a jury of people who supposedly hated her guts for no logical reason. I thought the "twist" was going to be that it was the victim's fiancée or wife, who found out about his secret affair with Kya. Or, since Tate came back into town, he possibly thought it would be the masculine or chivalrous thing to defend Kya against a violent man, but it went too far, and then she agreed to take the blame or try to get acquitted to cover up his/their crime. Either of those ideas would have made it a better story.
None of that happened, if I understood the movie correctly. The ironic "twist"/subversion was just that Kya manipulated everyone and everything around herself to make sure she had the "happy," storybook ending. She will face a higher form of judgment after passing away. For anyone to give this film a positive review, it makes me question how much evil exists in the human heart. Or, did they not even understand the plot of the movie? - twzbsrqf - 19 April 2024
A magnificently, entertaining movie
The acting is superb throughout, especially the lead characters. The storyline is quite unique, but very interesting and you can't help thinking more about the beauty of nature during the movie.
This movie is a sophisticated movie and best appeals to a sophisticated audience. This is the only explanation I can give for all the low reviews, which, in my opinion, are totally unjustified, and only indicate that the reviewers either did not fully appreciate what they were watching or it's not the type of movie they should've been watching in the first place.
The lead actor, a.k.a. The marsh girl, gave an astounding performance. The ending came as a complete shock which indicates to me what a great movie we had just watched. - UniqueParticle - 8 January 2023
Very enjoyable adaption
One of the sweetest, beautiful, and brilliant stories about a woman named Kyra that lives out in the wilderness falls in love despite being neglected by society most her life. I don't read books but this is very well filmed throughout! Daisy Edgar Jones is dazzling to watch in anything especially in Fresh that was completely different and disturbing. Where the Crawdads Sing is excellent and nice that Taylor Swift is nominated for her original song. I have trouble describing the movie but it's truly wonderful, engaging and has a great flow. I probably could've seen in the theater I'm glad I waited regardless id highly recommend it! - brockfal - 2 January 2023
Bland but palatable version of a great book
If like myself you loved reading a book, seeing a film version can be a risky experience. Films often simply cannot capture the wealth of emotions, resonances, descriptive detail, character and story depth that a great book can, and although some have succeeded, sadly, this film version of the massively popular novel by Delia Owens largely though not totally fails. Yes, it does look wonderful, with shimmering scenes of the Carolina swamps and wildlife and wistful narration, and the plot from the book remains generally intact and still engages despite some clunky dramatic devices, however, the lead characterisations are only adequate and screenplay and direction are so bland and unconvincing that it all seems more like a soapy TV movie than the powerful even edgy piece it should have been. Sanitised and lacking in passion, this could and should have been better, however, it is by no means unwatchable. My partner, who has not read the book, loved it. - c-pemberton1 - 26 December 2022
Marshes mystery
A pretty faithful adaptation of the book of the same name. Beautifully filmed with great understated acting. The tale of the marsh girl abandoned at childhood draws you in as the flashback courtroom drama with shades of To Kill a Mocking Bird unfolds. An outcast innocent in a small insular southern states town must fight a lifetime of prejudice and judgement to clear her name of murder. The cinematography of the marshes swamps and wildlife makes the swamp an at times idyllic place for marsh girls isolation. A magically story that could have been even better if they hadn't pulled their punches with the ending but still a great watch. - tthomas-67076 - 13 December 2022
Wow. A movie worth watching
Fantastic from start to finish there never seemed to be a lull in the film. Acting was exceptional This will be up there come Oscar time. Story was compelling. You will root for Kya to come out on top. This was 2 hours well spent. I did not read the book and thoroughly enjoyed the film. Dailey EdgarJones was nothing short of amazing. David Strathairn once again proves he is a truly gifted actor. It was refreshing to see a movie of this caliber. Spoiler alert. Nothing blew up, there were no Super Hero's flying across the sky or 10 minute fight scenes. You do have to sit, watch and let the movie take you. - jake-58762 - 29 November 2022
I'm a 20 year old guy, who didn't read the book, and I loved it.
Where The Crawdads Sing: A Review. I logged onto Netflix and hit the "Surprise Me" button. This movie was the first thing to pop up, and I instantly pressed play. I had no prior knowledge to the book, or even the theme of the movie. This was a beautiful movie, that was very well done, and even caused me to shed a tear. Shows the importance of Humanity, Morality, and Love (or lack of it) in life. Although I personally may have predicted this movie, every viewer is different and I find it hard to acknowledge many flaws in the film at all. The actors, both main and supporting, did an incredible job throughout the movie and I'm sure this portrayal gave the book justice. Would rewatch. - irvingwarner - 24 November 2022
Hallmark + Harlequin + Naturalism = Melodious Crawdads
There was major money behind "Crawdads", for this is what happens in the world of mega-best sellers, Hollywood latched onto it and tossed it into the movie-scape. As is usual, the heavy hitting producers got some beautiful people in the cast: Daisy Edgar Jones as Kya the Wild Child, although she looks more like Juliet than a feral child. The former would never have been to a doctor or dentist and had lousy nutrition and winged creatures biting her daily. Then John Smith and Harris Dickson as the almost two-peas-in-a-pod good guy and evil doer, respectively. Daisy Edgar Jones is a capable actress and does a good job, whereas Smith and Dickson rather get along on piano-white teeth and perfect skin. Then these same producers got writers who did not understand and/or research the 1940's and 50's, and that shows-it really does. They did access very good character actors to fill stereotypical roles--an actor as venerable and capable as David Strathairn can do an ersatz Atticus Finch standing on his head! At the very end of my review, I must go out praising the outstanding cinematography, for by itself it almost saved the day, movie wise. Almost.
