Post Script Preface:
Email me with comments at irun2eatpizza@hotmail.com
I’ve tried for many moons to use the “I’m a Human Capctha with zero success (call me a techno-dunce), HENCE, my email works!
I’m upping my score to a 70% after thinking of the adorable little girl who plays the young Kya, Jojo Regina. Kids are tough to believe, often times you can see the acting, but with Jojo, she was totally sympathetic and genuine.
Where the Crawdads Sing is definitely worth more than 34% Rotten Tomatoes. For shame professional critics…no to Elvis, no to Crawdads…heartless or grouchy, which is it?
While an implausible book, the movie’s rich visuals and solid acting entourage help bring it to life. Complaints should be tempered by the fact that in the end, it’s entertainment and stark realism would just be too darn depressing. So yes, Daisy, abandoned and poor has to be prettified, her shack has to be shabby chic, the other actors handsome and well spoken (despite of being in backwoods North Carolina). But that’s entertainment.
Why this book was a sensation is due to the universal baggage many of us carry around….if you’ve been abandoned either by family or lover-check, if you’ve been physically abused by family or boyfriends-check, if you feel the down and out never catch a break-check.
What’s a shame is that the last check (outsiders being shunned) is still ok with cancel culture. When does forgiveness come in? Daisy Edgar-Jones forgives her rotten family, so why can’t you?
Every single actor in this ensemble did a yeoman’s job. The director, Olivia Newman, must have been pleased and Lucy Alibar did a skillful job not stranding us in a long boring court scene, rather weaved the narrative in and out in a perfect balance.
I wouldn’t give it more than a 65% in that the story’s tropes are old and tired. There was nothing too artistic about the story telling or cinematography, and the ending (just like the book, a little too yawny). But for acting and writing, I saw good enough and worthy, if not better than the book.
