Who here is not guilty of ever saying “I’d kill that person if I could and get away with it”? Even I have had that natural reaction to things many people have done to me and those I care about, but sometimes phrases like that have been used as evidence in murder trials. This is one of the things that is at the heart of “Where the Crawdads Sing”.
Directed by Olivia Newman (First Match), this adaptation of the hit novel stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Harris Dickinson, Taylor John Smith, Garret Dillahunt, David Strathairn, Michael Hyatt, Jojo Regina & Sterling Macer, Jr. It’s 1969 in North Carolina and Catherine “Kya” Clarke (Edgar-Jones) is an outcast who has survived on her own in the marshland and later is accused of killing her past boyfriend, Chase (Dickinson). The story itself goes back and forth from her childhood to real time telling her story as the clues unravel what may or may not be the truth.
I really enjoyed the way this film was shot with Louisiana really substituting for North Carolina well and kept the dark and broody mood going. The cast also does a good job here with Edgar-Jones and Regina playing both versions of Kya consistently while Hyatt and Macer Jr. who do wonders as local shop owners who never showed Kya respect and an ounce of care.
“Where the Crawdads Sing” has a good script, but it is too long to the tune of about twenty minutes. I personally thought the trailer was deceiving compared to what the film actually is, but I did like how it dealt with its characters emotions, relationships, heartbreak, and perseverance. Even with all of this, it moved too slow and there were plot holes that were too large for me not to notice, so I will barely recommend this film as watching it on DVR from a cable showing at home, so you can watch and not watch when you feel like it.