WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING

Cert 15

125 mins

BBFC advice: Contains sexual violence, domestic abuse

So does the movie adaptation of Where The Crawdads Sing equal the quality of the worldwide bestseller by Delia Owens?

The pleasing answer is a resounding 'yes'. 

Despite the obvious difficulties of a story set in a Louisiana swamp, Olivia Newman has cracked it.

However, it loses a mark because the appearance of its main character, Kya Clark (Daisy Edgar-Jones).

How could a girl who has grown up alone in her formative years  have perfectly aligned white teeth, straight silky hair and not a scratch on her smooth white skin?

I digress.

The film runs two stories in parallel - the arrest and trial of Kya for the murder of a popular young man and a record of her life as the 'marsh girl.'

Jojo Regina plays the seven-year-old Kya whose mother (Ahna O'Reilly) walks out after regular beatings by her brutish father (Garret Dillahunt).

Siblings soon follow, leaving her with her violent dad who later disappears, leaving her to survive alone.

She somehow manages to survive but hasn't yet learned to read and write when the potential for love emerges.

Taylor John Smith plays her first beau, Tate and Harris Dickinson portrays her next, Chase Andrews, whose eventual murder investigation points the finger at Kya.

The excellent David Strathairn picks up her legal case although the odds and local prejudice are stacked against them.

The battle against adversity of Kya, the tense home life and the stuttering love stories make a compelling recipe and the experience is heightened by the wonderful backdrop of the marsh land with its dazzling wildlife.

Even though she was a tad too perfect, Edgar-Jones gives a fine representation of Kya in her teen and adult years, drawing the audience firmly on to her side.

Where The Crawdads Sings is different from most movies which make it to cinemas but its screenplay keeps the essence of the compelling source material throughout.

In my eyes, it is a hit.