Where the Crawdads Sing
Abandoned by her family, Kya raises herself all alone in the marshes outside of her small town. When her former boyfriend is found dead, Kya is instantly branded by the local townspeople and law enforcement as the prime suspect for his murder.
- Released: 2022-06-23
- Runtime: 120 minutes
- Genre: Drama, Mystery
- Stars: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith, Harris Dickinson, Michael Hyatt, Sterling Macer Jr, David Strathairn, Ahna O'Reilly, Garret Dillahunt, Jayson Warner Smith, Jojo Regina, Eric Ladin, Joe Chrest, Logan Macrae, Luke David Blumm, Charlie Talbert, Jojo Regina, Jayson Warner Smith, Billy Slaughter, Sterling Macer Jr, Robert Larriviere, Caroline Cole, Bill Kelly, Blue Clarke, Sarah Durn, Suzette Lange, Jerri Tubbs, Mike Harkins, Wyatt Parker, Taylor Shurte, Elton LeBlanc, Michael Wozniak, Grace Hinson, Will Bundon, Emma Willoughby, Michael A. Newcomer, Patrick Nicks, Brad Blanchard, Steve Kish, Jerri Tubbs, Lillian Dorsett, Anna Kabis, Zoey Reid
- Director: Olivia Newman, Olivia Newman, Olivia Newman
Comments
- ht-14993 - 27 June 2024
Brilliant
When you watch the movie, you enter Kya's world as if you are living with her and feel her pain and joy in every event, and when you feel that you have understood the characters of the movie very well, the opposite is proven every time, and this was what made me really excited about the events and the desire to know what really happened, and I also loved how they linked each event happening to the character to the swamp, as if we are all connected to it until the end.
It was truly magical to watch and I recommend you to watch it. As they say, it is the kind of movie you should watch at least once in your life. - natalia-malkovska - 1 June 2024
Unbelievable events, wishful thinking, good depictions of trauma and poverty
I haven't read the book so I am only reviewing the movie based on its own merits. I am rating it lower for the cliché twist at the end.
First, I would suggest a more believable sequence of events (though much less dramatic):- Tate never came back to his home town. He made life for himself in the city. He rarely thought about his first love.
- Chase got drunk and fell from the tower.
- Kya spent the rest of her life alone in the marsh, mostly satisfied in the company of nature, plants and animals. She kept writing books and died in peace.
And now to the actual movie.
The good:- The depiction of trauma, abandonment, isolation, and poverty. The parts of the movie showing Kya's childhood and relationship with her abusive father were really good.
- The characters of Mabel and Jumpin', as well as the lawyer Tom are well depicted and not entirely one-dimensional.
The bad:- The twist reveal at the end was what I was fearing. It would be better if the ending was left open, leaving us wondering what had really happened to Chase. The complicated premeditated murder would require a criminal mastermind to pull it off, not a socially inept marsh girl. Just because you know and understand the predator's behaviour, doesn't automatically make you able to act as a predator.
- Both of Kya's lovers are stereotypically one-dimensional. What about almost everybody in the town bullying, spreading rumours and hating on an abandoned child? Are we supposed to find that normal and understandable for people living in the 60's?
- The cheesy love story with a conflict resolved in a wishful way.
The conflict: His dream was to leave the small town and she was not able to leave the marsh. So, he went on to pursue his dreams and abandoned her.
The solution: He came back, having realised that success and achievements didn't matter, as long as he was with her. Basically, he gave up on his dreams to stay with her. She took him back after he had abandoned her. And they lived happily ever after. How more wishful could it be?
As a side note, why is it not possible to write about balanced and healthy relationships where both parties support each other's dreams and compromise to stay together? I guess the drama will be missing.
