Like most of the movies you watch these days, a simple post from someone you know is enough for you to click a title on Netflix and see if it’s as good as they say. That is one of the perks of having a world irreversibly interconnected.
It probably took a shared post on Where the Crawdads Sing — a title that’s not exactly the most commercial — and found the words “great movie”, “my eyes got a little misty” in the comments section, that made you stack the pillows and flick the remote to Netflix.
Crawdads is another term used in North America for Crawfish, a small animal living in rivers similar to lobsters. The story is set in a fictional fishing village called Barkley Cove in North Carolina.
As to why the crawdads sing? It’s probably a metaphor for finding a place of refuge.
The main character Kya Clark is played by a very talented 24-year old British actress Daisy Edgar-Jones. The seven year old Kya Clark was abandoned one after the other by her mother, siblings and at the age of ten by her abusive father in the marshlands where the family lived.
The lead character is forced to fend for herself, harvesting mussles from the river to sell to the local store owner so she can buy food. She ends up becoming the town gossip and grows a reputation as the “Marsh Girl”; untamed and wild.
When a man whom she had a secret relationship with died, she was arrested for his death and was put on trial. The central theme of fighting injustice, bigotry, gossip and the triumph of the human spirit make this movie a compelling story.
Edgar-Jones was recently nominated for a best supporting actress Golden Globe for her role in a TV limited series drama — Under the Banner of Heaven. She is beginning to make her mark with her talents and this nuanced portrayal of a girl who grew up fending for herself and facing the most horrible circumstances just adds to her growing reputation as the one to watch.
Dare I say, this movie had the same feel as the Oscar winning, critically acclaimed Forrest Gump. Both Kya and Forrest share the same journey of being outcasts overcoming unimaginable tragedy. Kya just has a darker twist in her triumph over adversity.
Perhaps the comparison comes from the similarities in tone and setting — both being a period piece set in mid-century America; a time where black Americans were considered second class citizens.
Racist undertones can be felt in the interaction of some characters in the movie. Particularly the black owner of a local general store being called “boy” by a social service worker who was looking for the young Kya.
Encountering kindness from strangers or the most unexpected people might be a familiar trope used in the kind of relationship Kya had with Jumpin’ (Sterling Macer Jr.) and Mabel (Michael Hyatt)—-the only black characters in the movie—- but it is a message that resonates and should endure nevertheless.
What makes the movie’s theme powerful is its earnest intentions of touching upon important issues such as women empowerment, sexual and physical abuse, abadonment and social injustice which are as relevant today as they were in the 50’s where the movie was set.
Social biases and ignorance still prevail today but there is no lack of effort to put these difficult realities to light and the author of the book this movie is based on —- triumphantly laid it out in the open.
The twist in the end where you are made to wonder — did she do it? We will leave it to you to uncover. We don’t want to spoil the intrigue and the moral dilemma it presents after you discover it.
Does the end justify the means? Here we go again.
3.5 stars for a well crafted story and adaptation.
