Where the Crawdads Sing

 Had the chance to see Where the Crawdads Sing at the beach movie house mid-afternoon. Several friends, including Eileen, had read the novel and the great reviews this picture had received. I usually don't read a lot of movie reviews except for one-showing, off-the-beaten-path films; instead, I rely on word of mouth and it usually works out fine.

Hadn't seen any of the actors in this picture except for David Strathairn, who gave his usual fine performance as a country version of Perry Mason, which might give something away but not all that much. The scene of the movie is the marshes of North Carolina (filmed in Louisiana).

Kya, the lead who is on screen  for the entire picture, is played by Daisy Edgar-Jones (and at least two other actresses, I think, at stages of her growing up) as a "marsh girl" who is progressively abandoned by all of her family members, first her mother and then her siblings, who cannot deal with living amid the terror provided by their father in the somewhat run-down house deep in the marsh.

She avoids human company and manages to live and support herself alone until two prospective boyfriends turn up seriatim by taking their small boats deep into the marsh where they encounter her. The movie follows the three of them as they mature and also focuses on Kya's developing talent as a nature artist who renders amazing drawings of what she knows--the birds, shells, and other denizens of the marsh. The two guys in her life are played by Taylor John Smith and Harris Dickinson. As always with Hollywood, they're wildly good-looking but that has to be assumed.

It is well-paced, though some might feel it to be slow, but carefully depicts her growing up and having to deal with an increasingly present outer world beyond the marsh. She is aided by a Black couple who run a country store and help her at critical times. Strathairn appears throughout the pic as a country lawyer and brightens the screen with his portrayal. Needless to say, he gets his chance to star in the dramatic courtroom scenes.

This is the opposite of an action movie, although there are a few fights and violence. It pulls you in and I easily found myself drawn to the characters. There's also a terrific twist at the end which leaves you speculating about what you've seen and not seen. Terrific summer movie, but excellent at any time of the year.