Where The Crawdads Sing
A gorgeous looking adaptation of the best-selling novel that fans of the books will likely love; even with its shortcomings.
Directed by Olivia Newman, Where The Crawdads Sing is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Delia Owens. Kya Clark (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a girl who lives alone out on the marshlands, is arrested on suspicion of the murder of rich boy Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson). As she prepares for trial, she recounts her life story to good guy lawyer Tom Milton (David Strathairn) - the family that left her, the father (Garret Dillahunt) who beat her, her first love Tate (Taylor John Smith), her love of her home, pursuit of a career in writing, and ultimately her relationship with Chase.
There’s something undoubtedly underwhelming about this adaptation, particularly for the frequent moviegoer. The mystery is a little too easy to solve, the beats play out a little too formulaic. It’s also not a very subtle movie. With a restructure that leads to sparse flashes forward to a pending court case, and an ending that beats you over the head instead of using any nuance, there could be a lot to nitpick here - especially for those familiar with the source material.
However, the issues with plot ultimately stem from the book itself. The book is a musing on a life formed, and lived, alone. While the film certainly plays with that concept, it occasionally does feel a little too caught up in who murdered who - rather than exploring the remarkable life of the lead character.
It’s not only the heroes who are dis-serviced by a transition to the big screen though. The villains, too, lose mightily when they aren’t given the space to be fleshed out. We don’t really know why Kya would ever be interested in Chase, when Chase is shown to have absolutely zero redeeming qualities. In the book, we’re given space to understand why Kya might be attracted to him. Here, his presence, and their relationship, just damages the lead character; coming across as completely against the grain.
That being said, Daisy Edgar-Jones is tremendous in the lead role. She brings the emotionality when needed, the action as required, and anchors a film that at plenty of times runs the risk of becoming adrift. There’s also a lot to love about the film in general. Visually, despite occasionally feeling like it was shot in a local backyard, the movie certainly delivers gorgeous settings. And for those who just like a simple whodunnit story, and are happy to sit in the aircon and relax for a couple of hours letting a movie like this wash over them, Where The Crawdads Sing might well be enough. Alas, for those wishing that from such promising source material an instant classic with some serious staying power might have ensued, disappointment is on the horizon.
