Where the Crawdads Sing
Starring: Daisy Edgar Jones, Taylor John Smith, Harris Dickinson, Michael Hyatt
Directed By: Olivia Newman
Rated: PG-13
When I was in the 6th grade, I had a music teacher who made us sing a song called the Crawdad Song. My friends and I begged, no pleaded, with this woman to sing something from the 21st century. But no! She was dead set that this group of 12-year-olds learn the Crawdad Song. We didn’t know what a crawdad was, much less why there was a song about them. Here’s a little slice of the lyrics for you:
“You get a line and I'll get a pole, honey
You get a line and I'll get a pole, babe
You get a line and I'll get a pole
We'll go fishin' in the crawdad hole
Honey, baby mine”
The weird thing was she always sang the song like she was an opera singer. The juxtaposition of her singing this country song in an operatic voice is honestly one of the most bizarre memories that I have of elementary school, but I have not forgotten it to this day.
Why am I bringing this up? Well, because an opportunity was just missed. If the Crawdad Song was ever going to have a resurgence, the time was now with the release of Where The Crawdads Sing. Never has a song been more fitting for a movie. It is literally called the Crawdad Song. I think my former music teacher would have gladly lent her operatic-style vocal musings to a cover for the movie. Now we’ll never know.
Where The Crawdads Sing is based on the wildly popular novel of the same name by Delia Owens. It follows Kya (Daisy Edgar Jones), a woman who was abandoned by her family as a child and grows up alone in the marshlands. There she learns about love, life, and poetry. The town turns its back on her, creating scary folk tales about her, giving her the nickname “marsh girl.” When a murder takes place of the town’s favorite guy, Kya is immediately blamed and put on trial. Can her innocence be proven?
In an ironic twist of fate, there is a lot of controversy surrounding the novel as the author is caught up in a murder mystery herself in Africa. You can read more about that here.
Director Olivia Newman brings the novel to life with the help of producer Reese Witherspoon (who has been hyping the movie up for quite a while.) Truthfully, not all aspects of the book translate excellently to the screen in this adaptation. Overall, this movie has major Nicholas Sparks energy. The entire time I sat in the theater, I felt like I had been transported back to 2010 and I was watching something along the lines of Dear John/The Last Song. If that’s your cup of tea, you’re probably going to eat this up.
Listen, I hate it when people constantly compare film adaptations to the book. Let the movie stand on its own! However, I’m about to become my own worst enemy. Several aspects of the plot feel rushed here, especially in the first act of the film exploring Kya’s early life. Granted when you’re adapting source material certain elements have to be condensed. Yet, the film was lacking a good pace throughout its runtime. The beginning was too fast, while the middle dragged on entirely too long and the end finally picked up. You know what would have helped immensely? A few different renditions of the Crawdad Song sprinkled in through the movie.
Daisy Edgar Jones is having a huge moment in Hollywood. You may have seen her in the horror film Fresh or the recent series Under the Banner of Heaven. There’s no denying she’s a star with major acting ability. As Kya, she embodies the scared girl abandoned by her family who eventually becomes an inhabitant of the marsh, fascinated by all the nature surrounding her. Jones carries the movie with grace.
One odd direction the film takes is making Kya too stylish. In the book, she is living off the land, scraping by as best she can. She’s dirty, outdoorsy, and living off of the marsh. She has no family. Yet in the movie, she is extremely well put together with a good sense of style. She never looks dirty. It looks like she’s been shopping at Madewell. Was there a Madewell in the marsh? I realize there’s an expectation for characters to look a certain way in movies but it’s not realistic based on Kya’s circumstances.
Kya finds comfort in childhood friend Tate, who helps her learn how to read and frequently visits the marsh. Tate and Anya’s friendship turns into something more as he becomes a romantic interest. Taylor John Smith makes a charming romantic lead. He was definitely giving off some Nicholas Sparks leading man energy.
If you thought this movie about an isolated girl living in a marsh wouldn’t involve a love triangle, you thought wrong!!! All the men are intrigued by her love of shells and marsh life! Harris Dickinson enters the story as Chase Andrews, the hot-shot former quarterback who is interested in Kya. He is the opposite of the patient, Tate. He is a cocky guy with secrets of his own.
Supporting actors Michael Hyatt and Sterling Macer Jr. stand out as Mabel and Jumpin’ the town store owners who help look after Kya through the years. David Strathairn is another solid addition to the cast as Tom Milton, Kya’s kindhearted lawyer.
Where the Crawdads Sing is a middling adaptation of superior source material. The pacing is a mess and the script doesn’t do the best job of building these dynamic characters. Ultimately, the film comes across as a Nicholas Sparks fare, when it could have been a lot more than that.
My Rating: 5/10