Where the Crawdads Sing | Film Review

 

I went to see this on a whim. I knew nothing about it, haven't read the book, and wasn't really sure what the general public opinion of it was. I went in completely blind.

Abandoned as a child, Kya (Daisy Edgar-Jones), isolated and alone, raised herself in the marshlands. As she grows up, she meets two men who open her up to the outside world. But when one of those men die in mysterious circumstances, Kya becomes the main suspect.

I didn't really like this film.

The premise is an interesting one, particularly the idea of Kya having to raise herself and how this impacted her life.

Kya is a really interesting character. The film does a good job of showing exactly who she is - smart, curious, and interested in the world around her. This is particularly important because we see Kya in a way that the rest of the town doesn't. We are automatically on her side.

There are also some really great side characters, and it is really important to see the way that Kya interacts with the people around her, particularly the ones that become her love interests.

The plot of the film, while interesting on its own, didn't make for a great watch. I spent a lot of time waiting for something to happen.

The film is split into two parts that intersect - Kya telling the story of her life, and the court case. Kya's life story is the more interesting of the two parts. The court case, as well as feeling quite unrealistic, seemed to drag on unnecessarily.

The film in general took too long to tell this story. It felt like all of the scenes held on for a bit too long, and when the film was supposed to end, it didn't want to.

Some of the dialogue felt a bit cheesy, and there was something about all of the characters that I didn't quite believe. For example, Kya didn't seem like a girl who had had such limited contact with the outside world, and had raised herself, which is integral to the plot of the film. Though having said that, all of the actors were great in their roles.

The main flaw of the film, for me, is that nothing about it felt particularly impactful. I wrote this review after seeing the film a few days before, and I struggled to remember crucial plot points because a lot of the film is quite forgettable.

Overall, this film wasn't for me. I have heard that the book it's based on is a lot better than the movie, but because I'm not a huge fan of the premise, I don't think the book would be for me either.

4/10