‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ – Review
Bringing together a collision of genres and one of the literary world’s most intriguing and nuanced characters to the big screen is director Olivia Newman’s Where the Crawdads Sings, and this production will take audiences by surprise.
From the best-selling novel comes a captivating mystery. Where the Crawdads Sing tells the story of Kya Clark (Daisy Edgar-Jones), 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.
Adapted from the best-selling novel by Delia Owens, Where The Crawdads Sing took the publishing world by storm and audiences were drawn into its original and complex mystery drama. And rightly so. This story now arrives on the big screen courtesy of director Olivia Newman, and audiences are in for something very different with its twisting plot. As a project championed by producer Reese Witherspoon, Where the Crawdads Sing is a narrative that takes the audience by surprise and is shaped by the focus and presence of its lead character. Its setting, narrative and genre mix-up keeps the suspense and pacing interesting, and moment by moment you’re fully engaged as to where this story is moving. And there are some considerably intense moments that come to light in the third act.
Where the Crawdads Sing is an interesting cinematic experience primarily as it is a narrative drama that is driven from the perspective of its central character Catherine ‘Kya’ Clark, who is portrayed by the young actress of the moment Daisy Edgar-Jones in a committed performance. I can’t remember ever seeing a character like Kya before on screen. A young reclusive girl, who has locked herself away from society and devoted herself to her home of the North Carolina marsh, Kya is a quick-thinking, learned naturalist who has become a part of the marshlands that have surrounded her life. Guarded and shy, much of Edgar-Jones performance is delivered through a non-verbal performance style, and she pulls her audience into Kya’s story and the turns in which it takes.
Because of Kya’s uniqueness as a character, and the framing of this story through her perspective, Where the Crawdads Sing delivers an incredibly interesting mix of genres. It’s part character study, part love story, part drama, part mystery, part legal thriller, and you never know where this story is going to go next, which keeps it all very interesting. There’s suspense and surprise present at the right moments in Where the Crawdads Sing, and I enjoyed the tactile, slow-burn quality to the story. This is a film that finds no reason to hurry and instead takes its time with its narrative and is all the more entertaining because of it. Praise must be given to cinematographer Polly Morgan for her camera work and lighting that captures the humid heat of the South, along with costume designer Mirren Gordon-Crozier whose styling of Kya gives her a backwoods Rapunzel-Southern belle quality.
Finally bringing Where the Crawdads Sing together is the haunting, ethereal vocal tones of Taylor Swift’s ‘Carolina’, a purposely written ballad that captures the essence of Kya and her position as a species of the marsh. Its evocative and effecting tones have a big impact on audiences and help to make the film’s shocking surprise ending subtle, with the audience having to give the story a double take. Swift’s song perfectly matches the actions of Edgar-Jones’s Kya and I can’t think of this film existing without this song.
Where the Crawdads Sing is a poignant film of deep power, and audiences seeking something different will be very intrigued by its concept and character. It’s a memorable watch, and you won’t soon forget the Marsh Girl.
Image: Sony Pictures
