An engaging film found Where the Crawdads Sing

I feel like I have to start with this statement: I haven’t yet read the highly popular book from which this film is based. I’ve read many negative reviews comparing the film Where the Crawdads Sing to its source material, and in fact, those early reviews kept me from seeing the movie as soon as it came out. However, it’s higher audience score (96% currently on Rotten Tomatoes) changed my mind, and I’m glad I did. Taken by itself, without knowledge of the book, I absolutely loved this film.

The movie follows Catherine “Kya” Clark, a girl who grew up in the marshes of North Carolina, mostly by herself. In the beginning of the film, she is a mid-twenty-something in 1969 and has been arrested for the murder of a local former high school football star, Chase Andrews. After her arrest, the story turns back to Kya’s childhood and upbringing. At first, you think she has a happy life. Her mom adores her and she has 4 siblings, all of whom seem to get along. But then we meet her father, and he is a brute. He beats his wife until she’s had enough and leaves suddenly, and Kya’s 4 older siblings follow as soon as they can, leaving little 7-ish year old Kya in the remote cabin alone with her dad. By modeling after those who came before, Kya has learned how to deal with her dad and avoid his wrath, and he isn’t terrible to her for those first couple years. But one day, inexplicably, he leaves in the night, and a young Kya is left all alone.

As the story progresses, we watch Kya grow into a smart, independent woman, who refuses to bow down to anyone. Whispered about all of her life as “the marsh girl” by those in town, now that she’s on trial for a murder she vehemently denies, Kya refuses to ask those townsfolk for mercy now. A friendly town lawyer takes up her case, and he does a great job of showing all of the evidence as to why Kya didn’t commit the murder, but the outcome is far from clear until the jury comes back. Along the way, the movie fills in all the pieces of Kya’s teen years, including her first love (who teaches her how to read and write) and heartbreak, and where and how Chase came into her life.

The highlight of this film is Daisy Edgar-Jones in the lead role of Kya. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her in anything before, but she is incredible here. The mystery of the film is intriguing from the get-go, and the drama, the interactions between the characters, is wholly fascinating. When I see a narrative drama, I want to be moved, and lose myself in the film. I definitely did in Crawdads, and by the end, was hanging on every word and action. Now it’s time to put the book on my to-read list! ★★★★