It was another Cineworld Unlimited Screening last night and the chance to check out Where The Crawdads Sing which is an adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name by Delia Owens, now I can’t bring you a comparison of book to adaptation as I’ve not read the book (yet).
The movie tells the story of “Kya” (Daisy Edgar-Jones) who raises herself in the dangerous marshlands of North Carolina and finds herself at the centre of a murder investigation. Where The Crawdads Sing starts with two children finding the body of Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson) and the mystery of his death moves towards Kya and because she is “different” she is blamed for his murder.
The movie is told from Kya’s point of view in a series of flashbacks as she tells her story to her attorney Tom Milton (David Strathairn), it’s all nicely done with the flashbacks and younger Kya is played wonderfully by Jojo Regina as her family leave her one by one until it’s just her and her Pa (Garret Dillahunt).
As the trial progresses we go deeper into Kya’s past and learn more about her life after Pa and the problems she overcomes as the “Marsh Girl”, a name that the town folk have given her as they class her as an outsider and some kind of freak, the loves in her life and the lessons she learns.
The nice thing about Where the Crawdads Sing is that we aren’t shown the murder, we are left to wonder if Kya did commit the dastardly deed, was it an accident or did someone else murder Chase, there are several moments that throw you off the path and make you think that you know what happened with some nice scenes that give you subtle clues to help make up your own mind.
Where the Crawdads Sing isn’t a movie that I would usually go for, but with such a great cast list and a trailer that had me interested in the release it was great to see it a little early thanks to Cineworld, this is certainly a movie that isn’t going to excite everyone, I enjoyed it but as I mentioned earlier I can’t compare it to the book as I’ve not read it, but 2h 5m runtime did fly by and I didn’t find myself getting bored at any point.
Where the Crawdads Sing stars Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People) as “Kya Clark,” Taylor John Smith (Sharp Objects) as “Tate Walker,” Harris Dickinson (The King’s Man) as “Chase Andrews,” Michael Hyatt (Snowfall) as “Mabel,” Sterling Macer, Jr. (Double Down) as “Jumpin’,” and David Strathairn (Nomadland) as “Tom Milton.” Olivia Newman (First Match) directs the screenplay by Lucy Alibar (Beasts of the Southern Wild) based upon the novel by Delia Owens.
Where the Crawdads Sing is heading to UK Blu-ray and DVD on the 24th of October.
Where The Crawdads Sing Unlimited Screening
Movie title: Where The Crawdads Sing
Movie description: A woman who raised herself in the marshes of the deep South becomes a suspect in the murder of a man she was once involved with.
Date published: July 20, 2022
Country: UK
Duration: 2h 5m
Director(s): Olivia Newman
Actor(s): Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith, Harris Dickinson
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
