Where the Crawdads Sing

We've all seen biopics or films based on true stories, but "Where the Crawdads Sing", while being based on a novel, carries itself like a film based on a true story. This story easy could've happened, however it was a well honed script based on a well crafted novel about a young girl's life as she maneuvers living in a marshland.

From the best selling novel comes a captivating mystery. This tells the story of Kya Clark (Daisy Edgar-Jones), an abandoned girl who raised herself to adulthood in the dangerous marshlands of North Carolina. For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" haunted Barkley Cove, isolating the sharp and resilient Kya from her community. Drawn to two young men from town, Tate (Taylor John Smith) and Chase (Harris Dickinson) Kya opens herself to a new and startling world; but when one of them is found dead, she is immediately cast by the community as the main suspect. As the case unfolds, the verdict as to what actually happened becomes increasingly unclear, as her attorney, Tom Milton (David Strathairn) unravels one layer of evidence after another. This ends up threatening to reveal the many secrets that lay within the marsh. 

Others to round out the cast are Michael Hyatt as Mabel, Sterling Macer Jr. as Jumpin', Logan Macrae as Jodie Clark, Kya's, brother, Bill Kelly as Sheriff Jackson, Ahna O'Reilly as Ma, Garret Dillahunt as Pa, Jayson Warner Smith as Deputy Perdue and Dane Rhodes as Judge Sims. 

This was directed with such pathos and careful delineation by Olivia Newman ("First Match '18) plus TV and shorts. Even though she only has one film to her credit, she does have a fair amount of TV and shorts in which was still was able to cut her teeth on, and frankly, I believe she is clearly a natural. Seasoned directors have not directed any better than she performed on this film. She will simply receive more work. It was equally well crafted by writer Lucy Alibar ("Beasts of the Southern Wild" '12, "Troop Zero" '19), based on the novel by Delia Owens. As I mentioned in the preface, this conveys as a film based on a true story even though it was not. The characters were well thought out and rich in their development. I've never really heard of Edgar-Jones as Kya, however she was simply perfect as Kya, and the chemistry between her and Smith's Tate was incredibly captivating unlike we typically see in most films today. It was a very endearing film, but presented in an incredible amount of realism. This 'rights of passage' film carries us from the 1950's through to the early 1970's spanning all the different situations and people Kya encountered. Could Edgar-Jones be nominated come Oscar time? Not sure, but suffice it to say, she would definitely deserve a nod.

This is definitely one of those small films we typically don't see during the summer film season, it being a small independent offing, but that's one of the aspects I like about it. It gives us that chance to see a well written, directed and acted film with a fresh, original feel to it, instead of the typical onslaught of big-budget, high-adrenaline type films. Enjoy, I know I did. 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                            Rated: PG-13                                             126mins.