Where the Crawfish Sing is originally a fantasy novel by Delia Owens that became a bestseller in 2019. Owens herself is very well versed in zoology, and at the same time is engaged in conservation, which left its stylistic imprint on the work of the writer. The preparation of the film adaptation became known at the beginning of 2021, and in August 2022 the film reached Ukrainian cinemas. We tell in the review whether this drama managed to touch the hearts of the audience.

“Where the Crawdads Sing” / Where the Crawdads Sing

Genre Drama
Directed by Olivia Newman
Cast : Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith, Harris Dickinson, David Strathairn
Premiere cinemas
Release year 2022
IMDb site

The story “Where the Crawfish Sing” centers on the girl Kaya (Daisy Edgar-Jones). Kaya loves nature and only among its wildness and grandeur does she feel calm. The girl’s childhood turned out to be extremely difficult, as a result she was left completely alone. And even though relationships with other people are difficult for Kaya, she still tries not to give up and goes forward. Even when she is accused of brutal murder.

It is around Kaya and her unusual character that the whole scenario is built. Her awkward attempts at friendship and love, behavior in a crisis situation and the eternal desire to advance in her endeavors captivate and evoke sympathy. Edgar-Jones managed to embody an extraordinary, but charismatic personality on the screen. Therefore, even the slightest adventures of Kaya are generally interesting to follow.

Captivating look and surroundings. As scenery in “Where the Crawfish Sing” we are shown the beauties of the counties of South Carolina. Impenetrable swamps and dense thickets not only look impressive, but also enhance the overall almost mystical mood of the film. And just all these sunny and not very open spaces, together with the comfort of one-story America, look pretty.

At this point, unfortunately, the film’s merits end. It is rather mediocre both as an adaptation and as an independent work.

The main problem is that the authors of the film seemed to be unable to understand what the original book was actually about. In it, the subtext was the theme of the unity of man with nature and the acceptance of his fate in the boundless world. The film seemed to completely forget about this concept, instead offering to watch the story of one character.

And let it be nice to watch Kaya, as mentioned above, but the rest of the elements of the picture do not support her development and path in any way. All meetings, collisions and troubles do not seem to fit into something single. But also as a series of separate incidents with a common moral, as, for example, in the film “Lemony Snicket: 33 misfortunes”, “Where the crabs sing” does not work.
Moreover, the dramatic component itself is completely unimpressive here. The impact on viewers’ hearts here is about the level of Instagram posts of bloggers who decided to increase interaction with the audience through deliberately tearful stories. Only now, no one believes in the latter for a long time.

Therefore, “Where the crayfish sing” is not particularly believed. Local history lacks additional accents and undertones to be truly touching. For every problematic situation there is an obvious solution, for every difficult question there is a rather prosaic answer. The authors have chosen the most flat approach to dramatic works, which greatly affects the overall impression after viewing.

The poetry and coziness of the language of the original book were embodied only in beautiful landscapes. But all other elements turned out to be extremely insipid. As a drama “Where the Crayfish Sing” does not cause unrest, as a life-affirming story it does not offer the characters serious tests, but as a thriller it does not twist the general suspense. All the storylines of the movie seem to stop in terms of elaboration halfway through.

And this is quite a shame, because it is noticeable that they still invested their significant efforts in the film adaptation. From a technical point of view, “Where the Crayfish Sing” is executed almost flawlessly. Perhaps director Olivia Newman still hasn’t found herself in the “big” format, because before that she worked mainly on short films and individual episodes of TV shows. And her skills are not yet enough to captivate viewers for two hours of viewing.