Where the Crawdads Sing

Where the Crawdads Sing

Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith, Harris Dickinson, David Strathairn

Directed by Olivia Newman

As it is with every book to film adaptation, I've never read the book and I base my review off the film entirely. That being said, from what I've heard from people who've read Where the Crawdads Sing, the film is as faithful an adaptation as it could be, and moreso than other book-to-film adaptations, showing a true devotion to the source material and allowing it to speak for itself with little interference, but still having some as I searched online and found about seven major differences from the book to the movie, yet again I never read it so I can't fully judge the film for it. What the movie delivers is a thrilling murder mystery set in the hauntingly beautiful and dangerous North Carolina marsh, centering on a girl who's equal parts naive and brave, forced to fend for herself against a "normal" world that shunned her for no good reason.

Catherine "Kya" Clark (Jojo Regina) lives in the North Carolina marsh with her family, set apart from the local townspeople, who don't know the tumultuous life she endures. Facing an alcoholic and abusive father, she witnesses her mother and then all her siblings abandon her, leaving her alone with her father. She learns at a very young age to fend for herself, and when her father also leaves, she's truly on her own, set apart from the community and living alone in the marsh. While she tried to integrate herself into society, she's mocked and shunned for her unkempt appearance and hides back in the marsh, and only a kindly store couple takes her in and teaches her.

As a young adult, Kya (Daisy Edgar-Jones) maintains that balance of naivety and strength as she focuses on her love of the nature in the marsh and drawing, culminating an impressive amount of drawings of the creatures and flora of the marsh. She also grows closer to childhood friend Tate Walker (Taylor John Smith), who helps teach her to read and write, and the two eventually begin a romantic relationship. When he leaves for college, she's heartbroken and it lasts for five years before she meets Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson), a popular football player in town and who pursues her with reckless abandon. They begin their own relationship which quickly becomes volatile and heated, so when Chase's body is found, she is the main suspect - also due to the rumors spread by the townsfolk about "That Marsh Girl." She is arrested and tried for the murder, and is represented by recently retired lawyer Tom Milton (David Strathairn), but it's an uphill climb to prove her innocence to a jury of her peers who spent decades mocking her and treating her as an inferior due to her isolated upbringing.

"Where the Crawdads Sing" is a beautifully shot and edited film, a movie that uses its setting to its fullest extent, turning the marsh into a character all its own and incorporates it into the story. Kya appears as an angelic savior of the marsh, having grown up there on her own and learning to fend for herself, turning the unforgiving landscape into her own personal paradise, taking the advice of the nature around her to shape her viewpoint on life. "In spite of everything trying to stomp it out, life persists...The marsh knows one thing above all else: Every creature does what it must to survive," is something Kya states in the movie, and it relegates back to its main point: the strange death of Chase Andrews - was it an accident, or was it murder? If murder, who did it? All eyes look toward the mysterious Marsh Girl, but the film gives different suspects that seemingly go unnoticed due to the preconceived notions of the townspeople who look down on anyone who looks and acts different than them.

"Where the Crawdads Sing" really showcases the uniqueness of Kya's world, set apart from the hustle and bustle of the late 1960s North Carolina small town of Barkley Cove. In the marsh, she lives among nature - beautiful, but utterly lonely. You sense a back-and-forth in Kya's mind as she struggles with loneliness and also wanting to be accepted in a world that sees her as an oddity and someone lesser than them. Despite this, she manages to find love not once, but twice, but albeit with its own heartaches. With Tate she finds an almost kindred spirit, a boy she knew growing up who also has an appreciation for the marsh, but feels like he has to choose between her and the marsh, and his outside world. With Chase Andrews, it's much more diabolical - he uses manipulation to get what he wants, and lashes out at her violently when he doesn't get what he needs. So it's no surprise he's the one who ends up taking a dirt nap, but did she do it? She has every reason to do it, and the film does a great job at showcasing how difficult it would've been to plead her case in a time where women's voices weren't really heard.

Yet the story also delves into Kya's rough childhood, and newcomer Jojo Regina truly shines in her powerful role. Her father was truly a monster, a man who physically and mentally abused everyone in his family, until one-by-one they all abandoned young Kya. It's heartbreaking to see how the young girl finds herself wholly alone, and struggling to survive - but thankfully she finds refuge in the marsh and manages to squeak out a living selling mussels to the local store. It's a harrowing ordeal for the young girl to go through, and Jojo Regina brings her struggle to the forefront - but also shows how it shapes her to be a more independent thinker.

Golden Globe nominee Daisy Edgar-Jones takes the reigns when the film moves to the adult Kya, and while she maintains her independent strength, she also struggles with acceptance and not wanting to be alone. She years for love but finds heartbreak at every turn, teaching her that she can only truly rely on herself. Daisy Edgar-Jones also shines in the role, as we witness the duel mentality in her mind as she goes from being independent to reliant, reserved then restrained, as she sees the world as a struggle. Taylor John Smith plays Tate as her knight in shining armor before he ultimately abandons her for his own life, and Harris Dickinson does a great job at playing the villainous Chase Andrews, taking cues from the likes of Disney's Gaston to play himself off as a desirable guy but underneath the charm there's nothing but evil underneath. The film focuses on these three talented young actors, and it's all the better for it in that regard.

When it comes to the actual trial, it derails the movie's track as the whimsical storyline gets off track when it goes back to the courtroom, filled with cliched dialogue and muted performances before the light hits back on the gorgeous marshland and the mystery that unfolded there. On the whole, "Where the Crawdads Sing" tonally switches a lot, but it maintains a forward momentum that keeps you enthralled and entertained, unlike other two-hour long films that feel like they drag on. You're wholly invested in Kya due to the tremendous performances of Jojo Regina and Daisy Edgar-Jones, and you're swept up in the marshland murder mystery up to the thrilling conclusion - offering everything you want in a smaller mystery film.

The Score: A-