MacKenzie and I headed to the movie theatre to see Where the Crawdads Sing in the countdown to moving to JMU.
MacKenzie was eager to hear the new Taylor Swift Song, Carolina.
My husband and son read the book and told us it would be a great movie.
Based on Delia Owens’ Where The Crawdads Sing novel, which has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide to date.
We purchased movie tickets for this Where the Crawdads Sing review. There is no compensation for this post. It’s based on our own experiences.
Reese Witherspoon produces the movie, and while Rotten Tomatoes gives it 2-stars, MacKenzie and I found it to be a great watch.
Rising star Daisy Edgar-Jones (“Under The Banner of Heaven”) portrays Kya, a solitary young woman abandoned by her mother and siblings in the Marshlands of North Carolina and left with her abusive father until he also abandons her. The community around her shuns her. Then she’s accused of the murder of a local named Chase.
There is a trial with the jury deciding her fate.
The movie does flash between the present and the past.
We thought this told the story well, and I usually have difficulty understanding what is happening, but not in this storyline.
I think it makes the traumatic drama one of beauty.
Edgar-Jones is convincing and has you cheering for her right away.
Kya’s story tugs the viewer between her relationships with an All-American tender-hearted Shrimper Tate Walker (Taylor John Smith) and Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson), a charming, sinister former quarterback.
The movie hooked us within minutes, and we never took our eyes off the screen.
The cinematography and acting realistically capture the abandonment, abuse, neglect, and rape without being “too much.” You feel the emotions of the characters.
Sharing the movie with my husband and son said it remained true to the book, but the book is a must-read.
MacKenzie and I were puffy-eyed and did not see the ending coming.
We talked about this movie all the way home, and I’m sure we will in the days to come as well.
The movie was slower-paced, but here in the South, that’s life. It’s slower here.
The pace was perfect for us to learn about Kya, her upbringing, and buy into her character.
“Where the Crawdads Sing” was a time well spent, and we loved the murder mystery as much as the romance. It was a twisted plot with a shocking twist ending.
And Taylor Swift’s song was worth the wait.
Where the Crawdads Sing Synopsis:
From the best-selling novel comes a captivating mystery. Where the Crawdads Sing tells the story of Kya, an abandoned girl who raised herself to adulthood in the dangerous marshlands of North Carolina. For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” haunted Barkley Cove, isolating the sharp and resilient Kya from her community. Drawn to two young men from town, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world; but when one of them is found dead, she is immediately cast by the community as the main suspect. As the case unfolds, the verdict as to what actually happened becomes increasingly unclear, threatening to reveal the many secrets that lay within the marsh.
Where the Crawdads Sing stars Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People) as “Kya Clark,” Taylor John Smith (Sharp Objects) as “Tate Walker,” Harris Dickinson (The King’s Man) as “Chase Andrews,” Michael Hyatt (Snowfall) as “Mabel,” Sterling Macer, Jr. (Double Down) as “Jumpin’,” and David Strathairn (Nomadland) as “Tom Milton.” Olivia Newman (First Match) directs the screenplay by Lucy Alibar (Beasts of the Southern Wild) based upon the novel by Delia Owens. Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter are producing the 3000 Pictures film.
Directed by:
Olivia Newman
Screenplay by:
Lucy Alibar
Based upon the novel by:
Delia Owens
Produced by:
Reese Witherspoon
Lauren Neustadter
Executive Producers:
Betsy Danbury
Rhonda Fehr
Cast:
Daisy Edgar-Jones
Taylor John Smith
Harris Dickinson
Michael Hyatt
Sterling Macer, Jr.
and David Strathairn