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| Daisy Edgar-Jones stars in Where the Crawdads Sing |
The Outsider
Rotten Tomatoes Plot: From the best-selling novel comes a captivating mystery. Where the Crawdads Sing tells the story of Kya, an abandoned girl who raised herself to adulthood in the dangerous marshlands of North Carolina. For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" haunted Barkley Cove, isolating the sharp and resilient Kya from her community. Drawn to two young men from town, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world; but when one of them is found dead, she is immediately cast by the community as the main suspect. As the case unfolds, the verdict as to what actually happened becomes increasingly unclear, threatening to reveal the many secrets that lay within the marsh. Directed by Olivia Newman.
Starring: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith, Harris Dickinson, Michael Hyatt, Sterling Macer, Jr., and David Strathairn.
What's Good: Kya (Edgar-Jones) reminds us, "Every creature does what it must to survive." Kya not only survives, she flourishes, finding "inventive ways to endure" in the most capable hands of Edgar-Jones and Leslie France (early on.) Both performances border on brilliant, despite their character's numerous limitations and obstacles.
What's Not: One of those aforementioned obstacles is the discovery of a dead body, someone (naturally) associated with Kya. I suppose it's meant to inject some added drama into the story; but truth be told, I was satisfied with Kya's day-to-day struggles versus a predictable "movie-of-the-week" twist/court room snoozefest.
Budget: $24 million
Runtime: 126 minutes (About 20 minutes too long.)
