Where the Crawdads Sing

Director: Olivia Newman Olivia Newman

Overview

Directed by Olivia Newman, this mystery thriller is an adaptation of the novel by Delia Owens. It follows Kya (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a young woman who practically raised herself within the North Carolina marshlands after being abandoned there by her mother when she was a little girl. She feels detached from the small-town community near the dangerous marshes until two men show interest in her. However, when one of them later dies, she becomes the town's prime suspect. Co-starring Harris Dickinson, Garret Dillahunt, and David Strathairn.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/13/2022
UPC:	0043396578814
Original Release:	2022
Source:	Sony Pictures
Language:	English
Sales rank:	2,683

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Daisy Edgar-Jones	Kya Clark
Taylor John Smith	Tate Walker,Deputy Perdue
Harris Dickinson	Chase Andrews
David Strathairn	Tom Milton
Michael Hyatt	Mabel
Sterling Macer Jr.	Jumpin'
Logan Macrae	Jodie Clark
Ahna O'Reilly	Ma
Garret Dillahunt	Pa
Jojo Regina	Little Kya
Luke David Blumm	Little Tate
Blue Clarke	Little Chase
Will Bundon	Little Jodie
Dane Rhodes	Judge Sims
Eric Ladin	Eric Chastain
Robert Larriviere	Dr. Foster
Ron Flagge	Jacob
Joe Chrest	Dr. Cone
Sharon Landry	Miss Pansy
Jerri Tubbs	Patti Love
Michael A. Newcomer	Dr. Blum(as Michael Newcomer)
William Gautreaux	County Recorder
Taylor Shurte	Miss Jones (Court Recorder)
Grace Hinson	Sandy (Dog Gone Waitress)
Charlie Talbert	Mr. Mosely
Charley Vance	Mr. Lane
Bill Kelly	Sheriff Jackson
Don Stallings	Scupper
Wyatt Parker	Benji
Payne Bosarge	Steven
Lillian Dorsett	Little Pearl
Zoey Reid	Little Tina
Patrick Nicks	Brian
Adeleine Whittle	Mandy
Emma Kathryn Coleman	Missy
Toby Nichols	Murphy
Sarah Durn	Miss Ariel
Caroline Cole	Pearl
Anna Kabis	Tina
Billy Slaughter	Social Services Officer
Mike Harkins	County Clerk
Brad Blanchard	Rodney
Leslie France	Kya (mid-70s)
Sam Anderson	Tate (mid-70s)
Kevin Clabert	Mr. Andrews
Pete Marinovich	Jury Foreperson
Mychael Danna	Composer

Technical Credits

Delia Owens

Lucy Alibar

Delia Owens	Screenwriter
Lucy Alibar	Screenwriter
Olivia Newman	Director
Betsy Danbury	Executive Producer
Rhonda Fehr	Executive Producer
Reese Witherspoon	Executive Producer,Producer
Jon Wu	Executive Producer,Executive Producer
Lauren Levy Neustadter	Producer
David Rubin	Casting
Ai-Ling Lee	Sound/Sound Designer
Cory Brooks	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

Based on the international bestseller by Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing is directed by Olivia Newman from a script by Lucy Alibar (Beasts of the Southern Wild). The tale is engaging, entertaining, and thought-provoking, driven by a cast that fills the screen perfectly and settings that convey both hope and despair. Kya Clark (Daisy Edgar-Jones) lives alone in the marshes of North Carolina. Her abusive father causes her to be abandoned by her mother and siblings, who flee for safety. When he leaves her as well, Kya has had to find a way to survive on her own for years. Because of this, the locals, who only call her "Marsh Girl," shun her. Living as a loner, she slowly gains the confidence of Tate Walker (Taylor John Smith). But when he seemingly abandons her, she falls in with well-to-do Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson), and life starts to look up again. That changes when Chase is found dead, and Kya is accused of his murder. Newman carefully approaches the subjects of abuse, abandonment, and independence in her first theatrical feature-length outing. In doing so, she creates a film that feels utterly natural. The performances she draws from the actors make the filmgoer feel like they're watching something happen in their own town rather than a fictional screen account. The emotion is realistically raw, gut-wrenching, and heartbreaking in this film while also instilling a sense of hope at times. The players, particularly breakout stars Edgar-Jones and Smith, enhance this. They fall into their roles and come across as having real-life conversations rather than reading lines. Undoubtedly, the tight script by Alibar contributed to this. Even though it alternately covers two timelines - Kya growing up and Kya going to trial, there is an organic way to how the story moves back and forth. Enhancing the film is the excellent cinematography of North Carolina swampland and sets that accurately depict life in the South in the 1950s and 1960s. Just like the actors make audiences feel present in their lives, these features make the viewer feel present in that time, too. Where the Crawdads Sing isn't a "feel good" movie. But it is an excellent, engaging, and dramatic story that presents life and prejudice in the South during the 1960s very well. Sometimes touching, sometimes wondrous, and occasionally disturbing, the film creates and populates a world that still exists if you look just below the surface of the water.