WHAT’S IN THE THEATERS
AROUND EASTERN OREGON
NOW PLAYING
15
JULY 27�AUG. 3, 2022
‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ gets winning adaptation
By Mark Meszoros
The News-Herald (Willoughby, Ohio)
“Where the Crawdads Sing” benefi ts
from a woman’s touch.
Actually, make that many women’s
touches.
The largely bewitching adaptation of
fi rst-time novelist Delia Owens’ hugely sell-
ing romance-mystery drama of the same
name — in theaters now — is directed by
Olivia Newman, working from a screenplay
by Lucy Alibar.
It is lovingly shot by director of photog-
raphy Polly Morgan (“A Quiet Place Part II”)
and boasts thoughtful production design
by Sue Chan (“Shang-Chi and the Legend
of the Ten Rings”).
Daisy Edgar-Jones fl ourishes as the
story’s central character, Kya Clark, with
Jojo Regina — making her feature-fi lm
debut — excelling in one very impactful
moment as a younger version of Kya.
And while she does not appear in the
fi lm, actress-producer Reese Wither-
spoon largely is responsible not only for
this adaptation being made — the fi lm is
produced by Hello Sunshine (“Little Fires
Everywhere,” “The Morning Show”), which
she co-founded — but also for some of
the book’s success. (After she selected it
for her Reese’s Book Club, it skyrocketed
up the bestseller lists, selling more than
12 million copies and setting a record for
the most weeks atop the New York Times
hardcover fi ction bestsellers list, accord-
ing to the fi lm’s production notes.)
Oh, and the movie features the haunt-
ing ballad “Carolina” by one Taylor Swift.
“Where the Crawdads Sing” takes
place over the 1950s and ‘60s, the story
consisting of two timelines that eventu-
ally merge. It is set in Barkley Cove, North
Carolina, which gives the fi lm much of its
personality. Here, Kya becomes a thing of
legend as the mysterious girl who lives out
in the marshlands, aka the “Marsh Girl.”
First, though, we meet Regina’s version
of Kya, whose abusive, heavy-drinking
father (Garret Dillahunt of “Ambulance”)
fi rst drives away her mother but then also
Penguin Random House/TNS
Kya’s handful of siblings. For a while, when
it’s just daddy and daughter, he stops
drinking and teaches her a few things, but
a reminder of the past undoes the prog-
ress he’s made. Soon enough, he’s gone,
too, leaving the uneducated girl to fi gure
out how to take care of herself alone in the
family’s secluded home.
In the present day, Kya is accused of
killing Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson,
“The King’s Man”), a town celebrity as
its former star quarterback. While many
in town believe her to be guilty, she is
defended by a kindhearted lawyer, Tom
Welcome Rodeo Fans!
524 S River St, Open Mon - Sat
Enterprise, OR 97828 10 am-6pm
541-426-4393
Milton (David Strathairn), who will do his
best to poke holes in the prosecution’s
narrative surrounding Chase’s death.
Before the jury of her supposed peers
reaches its verdict, we get the fuller Kya
story, a tale involving romances with the
good-natured Tate Walker (a solid Taylor
John Smith of “Sharp Objects” and “The
Outpost”), who was a childhood friend of
her brother Jodie, and then with Chase.
While she connects with both young
men, each will let her down, albeit in
diff erent ways.
Tate has an extremely positive impact
on her life; he fi rst brings her gifts and
teaches her to read and later encour-
ages her to use vast knowledge of the
marshland and its wildlife toward what
could be a fulfi lling and lucrative ven-
ture. However, Tate has goals of his own,
ambitions that butt up against her fear of
the outside world.
“You can’t live here in the marsh
forever,” he tells her.
Her fi ery response: “Watch me!”
With Chase, it’s diff erent. He can be
kind and … not so kind. Does he truly care
for Kya or does he simply enjoy getting
away from the stresses of his everyday life
to enjoy some secret time with her?
“Where the Crawdads Sing” is at its
most engaging when we spend time with
Kya living her unusual life — when she’s
collecting seashells for research or inter-
acting with the few people in her life, such
as husband-and-wife owners of the local
Are you
a local
artisan?
Where is
EXIT
306?
bait-and-tackle shop, Jumpin’ (Sterling
Macer Jr.) and Mabel (Michael Hyatt), who
are a positive force in her life, especially
after her father leaves.
Edgar-Jones (“Normal People,” “Under
the Banner of Heaven”) gives an under-
stated but penetrating performance.
Although her older version of Kya is quite
standoffi sh early on after being arrested
for the crime — it’s frustrating that she’ll
barely speak with Tom when he visits her
in jail to off er his help — we will feel her
ups and downs throughout the fl ashbacks.
The story’s emotional resonance also is
a credit to Newman (“First Match”), Alibar
(“Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “Troop
Zero”) and, surely, Owens, a wildlife scien-
tist herself and the author of nonfi ction
books about her work in Africa.
“Where the Crawdads Sing” is less
successful as a murder mystery, the pro-
ceedings in court feeling like too much of
an afterthought.
Similarly, at least in the fi lm version of
the tale, Tom is a frustratingly underde-
veloped character, especially given just
how dependable Strathairn (“L.A. Con-
fi dential,” “Nomadland”) is with a range
of character types. We see Tom have a
gentle interaction with a young Kya, but
the movie doesn’t show us what really
makes him tick.
T HOMAS O RCHARDS
OPENING FRIDAY, JULY 1 ST
U-PICK
• Dark Sweet & Rainier
Cherries $2.25/lb
• Apricots $2.00/lb
Bring a ladder and containers for U-Pick