Kya (Daisy Edgar-Jones) in "Where the Crawdads Sing" (Sony Pictures) Cut to an image of water and sand as if Newton wasn't sure audiences could get the metaphor. Kya, having put on lipstick and a fancy dress for Tate's return, is despondent in a way not seen since the original "Stella Dallas." And, as if the despair wasn't already apparent enough, Kya voices her disappointment about her "heart pain" seeping away like water and sand. ![]() More damaging, he breaks his promise to reunite with her one July 4th. It is obvious that director Olivia Newman wants this to be the swoon-inducing lovers-kissing-in-the-rain scene from " The Notebook." Instead, viewers may fall down in fits of unintentional hysteria.Īnd while Tate is enough of a gentleman - he cares too much for Kya to have sex with her - he does break her heart when he leaves to go to college. As Tate talks about a tragedy in his past, leaves start swirling in the wind and the couple kiss in a Big Romantic Moment. Their budding relationship is depicted in a montage so insipid one's eyes might glaze over. The main narrative focuses on Kya's love for Tate (Taylor John Smith) who brings her feathers and teaches her to read. Newman's direction is so sluggish the film never finds its rhythm. Testimony and evidence are presented against "The Marsh Girl," such as red fibers, which may be a red herring, but Tom Milton refutes it all shrewdly. The film toggles haphazardly back and forth to the courtroom (some viewers may experience whiplash) where Kya is on trial. It is uncanny that Jumpin and Mabel do not age during the film's primary time period, 1953-1969, nor do they seem to encounter any racism despite being the only Black people in the film. At one point, Social Services asks Jumpin about Kya, but that plotline is dropped never to be raised again. They give her shoes, encourage her to pursue an education, and generally look out for her. "Where the Crawdads Sing," jumps back to 1953 to Kya as a child (Jojo Regina) who is neglected and abused as well as teased when she goes to school barefoot and unkempt and can't spell "dog." She does get some kindliness from the Black couple, Jumpin (Sterling Macer Jr.) and Mabel (Michael Hyatt) who run a local store. ![]() Tom claims he wants to "get to know" Kya, so he can keep her off death row, and so, the film recounts her story. His "aw, shucks" quality is oddly exasperating. Strathairn plays Tom less like a stoic Atticus Finch and more like stammering Jimmy Stewart. Fortunately, Kya does get the sympathy of Tom Milton ( David Strathairn) a lawyer who comes out of retirement to defend her. Kya, who has barely been introduced, is suspected of his murder (and presumed guilty) because she is the local outsider. The film opens with some kids finding the corpse of Chase Andrews ( Harris Dickinson). Jeff Daniels didn't want dad roles - so he took the ultimate dad role in "To Kill a Mockingbird"
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