Where the Crawdads Sing

As an avid reader (I'm on pace to finish 30 books this year!), I'm always intrigued to see an adaptation of a book I enjoyed. 

Where the Crawdads Sing is the film based on the novel of the same name. The book itself has become a hit across many circles, unconfined by the unfortunate niches that tend to absorb many readers from trying new things. Personally, I found it to be a compelling, excellent read with a thoughtful, well-told story and well-written characters. I read it earlier this year and it's been one of my favorites thus far in 2022. 

In that sense, the film already has the benefit of a great plot. And make no mistake about it...this is a borderline page-for-page adaptation. To my memory, almost nothing has been changed outside of leaving a handful of scenes out that aren't central to the core plot. As I watched, many moments I found in the novel were faithfully recreated on the screen. 

One of the first things I mentioned to my wife as we left our showing (she's also a reader, and loved this book) was that this film was interesting to review. It spans the spectrum of quality across various elements which left me pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it compared to the overly harsh reviews it has been getting, but frustrated that it's no where near as memorable as the book. The pieces just aren't there for that. 

Starting with what's GREAT would be the story itself and Daisy Edgar-Jones. Her portrayal of Kya fits the book perfectly and she meets the material's quality in terms of what she brings to the screen. Luckily, the film is centered around her more often than not, so it's to its benefit that an excellent story found an excellent leading lady for its main character. Most of our additional cast is strong too, filling smaller roles like Mabel, Jumpin', and Tom Milton with memorable performances worthy of the way they're written in the novel. That, unfortunately, does not include our two male leads...

Just fishin for some compliments...

Two best performances in the film ^^

...which brings me to the film's only arguably BAD element: Tate and Chase. Both actors lie in the shadow of Edgar-Jones, and if I'm being honest, aren't all that convincing. She feels like a performance worthy of HBO while they feel like they're on the CW. For this film to really have worked, some additional (and more talented) star power was needed. Tate (Taylor John Smith) fares better by the end of it all for sure, while Chase (Harris Dickinson) feels cringey, and not in the same way he's written in the novel. It's a far cry from his much better performance in The King's Man.

What we're left with (if you're keeping score) is a GREAT plot and core performance + arguably BAD love interests. All of this is wrapped in a neat, but rather BORING production package that could have truly been the difference and elevated this material. That's likely the outcome from an inexperienced director (Olivia Newman). What's here is serviceable, but just that. The cinematography is dull along with the editing and overall look/feel. It feels like a TV show instead of a big budget film, and the original score - despite a new T-Swift track - is forgettable. Two very different stories, but I think back to something like Gone Girl where the film was so damn well made and compelling with its imagery, sound, and editing, that a similar treatment here could have been a game changer.

When you combine all those various quality of elements, you're left with something I found "good". I'm likely being kind compared to someone who didn't read the novel, as some stories are best left on the page. While I do believe there's a high-quality version of Where the Crawdads Sing out in the multiverse, somewhere, the version we got is incredibly faithful and "pretty good". Better than getting one that sucks!

CONS

• Our two core male leads are uninteresting and feel like they're playing catch-up with Edgar-Jones. Why they didn't aim for a film packed with a trio of star power is beyond me (and likely would have helped the box office)
• Boring production values. The lackluster cinematography felt like the biggest sin given all that could have been done capitalizing on the nature of the marsh
• Spotty CGI when present (rare)
• Original score is similarly boring as is the editing

PROS

• I wasn't convinced of the casting of Edgar-Jones initially (but also not super passionate about "who" it should be either) but she crushes it here. The film is immensely more watchable because of her
• Other supporting characters provide great representations of their characters too (aside from...well you know)
• This is a page-for-page adaptation which means the story is fantastic and naturally starts the film off with a high bar

Rath's Review Score | 7/10