Can the 'Where the Crawdads Sing' Movie Escape Its Source Material's Past?
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It was only a matter of time before Where the Crawdads Sing became a movie. Just a few years after the book landed, it’s become a global phenomenon, sitting pretty on the New York Times bestseller list for over 150 weeks. Now, it’s making the leap to the big screen as a summer blockbuster, with massive success basically guaranteed. The first trailer for the film promises an evocative journey into the North Carolina marshlands; now, fans who got an early peek at the film during CinemaCon describe how it "strikes a tone of thriller-mystery and young-adult romance—a bit like the bittersweet love of a Nicholas Sparks story, crossed with the darker intrigue and drama of Big Little Lies." We’re breaking down everything we know about the Where the Crawdads Sing so far, from the story to the soundtrack.
What is Where the Crawdads Sing About?
Adapted from the bestselling 2018 novel by Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing is the story of Kya Clark, also known as “The Marsh Girl.” Abandoned as a child by her mother, then by her abusive father, Kya grows up virtually alone from the age of six onward, running wild through the marshes of her coastal North Carolina community. Kya learns to fend for herself and develops a deep communion with the landscape, but she faces ridicule from her classmates and the townspeople, who nickname her “The Marsh Girl.” Kindness comes in the form of Tate Walker, who teaches her to read and write, and becomes her first love. Encouraged by Tate, Kya eventually parlays her expertise about the environment into publishing nature almanacs.
As an adult, Kya falls for the town’s golden boy, Chase Andrews. The relationship ends badly, with violence and infidelity, but Kya is drawn back into the past when Chase is found dead. A series of clues lead local investigators to believe that Kya committed the murder; they jail her without bail and put her on trial, forcing her to prove her innocence in a twisty-turny courtroom drama. At once a gripping mystery and an affecting coming-of-age story, the novel was a huge commercial hit.
Who’s Involved With the Film?
Reese Witherspoon’s literary takeover of Hollywood continues with Where the Crawdads Sing. The actress is producing the film under the banner of her production company Hello Sunshine, which also produced her adaptations of Wild, Gone Girl, Big Little Lies, and Little Fires Everywhere. Witherspoon called the film "one of those really exciting, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities."
Where the Crawdads Sing stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kya, along with Taylor John Smith as Tate, and Harris Dickinson as Chase. Olivia Newman, who made her feature debut with First Match in 2018, directs, while Lucy Alibar, an Oscar nominee who co-wrote Beasts of the Southern Wild, is responsible for the script.
Taylor Swift has provided an original song for the film, called “Carolina,” which you can hear in the trailer. “Where The Crawdads Sing is a book I got absolutely lost in when I read it years ago,” Swift wrote on Instagram. “As soon as I heard there was a film in the works starring the incredible Daisy Edgar-Jones and produced by the brilliant Reese Witherspoon, I knew I wanted to be a part of it from the musical side. I wanted to create something haunting and ethereal to match this mesmerizing story.”
What's Up With This Delia Owens Controversy?
When Swift and Witherspoon signed onto Where the Crawdads Sing, they faced harsh backlash from some fans, who argued, “Reese Witherspoon and Taylor Swift are the epitome of white feminism.” Why are they being criticized, you ask? To answer that question, you'll have to follow us down the rabbithole of a shocking murder involving Owens, elephants, and the Zambian government.
Owens has been shrouded in controversy since 2010, when The New Yorker published an investigation detailing her time spent as a conservation activist in Africa with her then-husband Mark Owens and his son, Christopher Owens. In a documentary aired in 1996, titled Deadly Game: The Mark and Delia Owens Story, ABC aired shocking footage of a suspected poacher's murder on the Owenses' Zambian wildlife preserve. Neither the victim nor the shooter was ever identified, but several sources who spoke to The New Yorker suspect it was Christopher Owens who fired the fatal shots. Mark Owens has been accused of covering up the crime and disposing of the victim's body, which has never been recovered. Zambian authorities opened a homicide case and sought to question the Owenses, but the couple, who had traveled to the United States, were warned by the American Embassy not to return to Zambia until the case was resolved. The Owenses have been accused of having "archaic ideas about Africans," and slammed for their book, Secrets of the Savanna, in which they call for human population control across the continent.
Now, those aware of this history are drawing uneasy parallels to Where the Crawdads Sing. Jeffrey Goldberg, the author of The New Yorker's investigation, told Slate in 2019, “I got a copy of Crawdads and I have to say I found it strange and uncomfortable to be reading the story of a Southern loner, a noble naturalist, who gets away with what is described as a righteously motivated murder in the remote wild.” Now, fans on social media have registered their disappointment with Swift and Witherspoon for failing to acknowledge this problematic past. “I wish I was surprised, I want to support TS so badly but why is she always so painfully silent?” one fan wrote.
When Will it Hit Theaters?
Where the Crawdads Sing is set to hit theaters on July 15, 2022. Watch this space for updates as we continue to learn more.
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