Where the Crawdads Sing (Mini-Review)

Where the Crawdads Sing is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Delia Owens. Catherine "Kya" Clark, an outcast known commonly as Marsh Girl, is accused of murder when Chase Andrews' corpse is discovered. Could it have been Kya who killed Chase? Or was it someone hidden in her past? Where the Crawdads Sing was released in 2022. It was directed by Olivia Newman. It stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith, and Harris Dickinson.

The trailers seemed to hint at a murder trial. But the movie abandons that premise in favor of following Kya. On one hand this is bad for anyone who was dead set on watching a trial. On the other hand Kya is such an extremely compelling protagonist that it didn't bother me. I wanted to learn all about her and the possible murder was just the cherry on top.

The movie focuses so heavily on Kya that, at times, it's easy to forget that the movie started with a 'murder'. I'm really bad with names so I didn't remember Chase's name by the time he appears in one of the flashbacks. That might just be me as, again, I'm really bad with names. Yet I remembered the 'murder' enough to start thinking of possible suspects. I really shouldn't have bothered as how and why Chase died is so obvious I thought it was a red herring.

Upon first viewing it seems like Kya's flashbacks are due to her talking to her lawyer. Yet by the end of the movie it's more likely that her narrations are due to a character reading what amounts to her diary at the end. This makes sense as a line of narration near the beginning of the movie is the same as the one when the character reads from her diary.

Kya is mocked by people for being the missing link and is given her the nickname Marsh Girl. This would imply that Kya looks wild since she lives in isolation in a marsh. Yet she is extremely good looking so the mocking doesn't make sense. This failure is probably due to turning the book into a movie. Basically in past movie adaptations if a character was not stereotypically good looking, they were changed to look more appealing.

Chase is a jerk and deserved to die. Quickly after he meets Kya, I knew he wasn't good news. Since he was the second guy that 'fell' for her and Tate was such a good guy, Chase must be a jerk. I loathe most love triangles because they tend to have one guy be awesome and the other guy be a jerk. Which makes the whole debate over which guy should end up with the girl boring. Anyways...when Chase enters Kya's home he immediately acts like he owns the place. Then when they do it for the first time, he basically gives five pumps with no concern for her pleasure. Foreplay is an integral part of sex as it is basically a warm up routine and shows that your partner cares for you.

I would recommend Where the Crawdads Sing to those looking for a fun mystery. I would also recommend Where the Crawdads Sing to those seeking a movie with an intriguing protagonist.