WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING is a mystery drama about a young woman who’s raised herself in the North Carolina marsh since she was a child but who’s charged with murder when a young man whom she was romantically involved with is found killed. WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING tells an engaging, intriguing story with strong production values, but it has a mixed worldview with some positive, overt Christian, biblical content along with a humanist undertone, some foul language, sexual immorality, and scenes of physical abuse.

Kya is on trial as the potential murderer of a young man in the community named Chase Andrews. As the trial is continues, she tells the story of her life to her lawyer.

As a young girl, Kya loved her mother, but with her father’s abuse, her mother decides to leave. One person after another leaves her, and she’s left with just her father. Kya’s father teaches Kya how to live in the marsh land of North Carolina, finding oysters and selling them at the local grocery store. Soon, her father leaves her as well, and she must fend for herself.

When Kya goes to sell the oysters to the grocery store, the couple that owns it takes pity on her and decides to watch out for her safety. The husband, Jumpin, tells his wife, Mabel, that he thinks taking care of Kya could put them in harm, but Mabel tells him God did not tell us to live a careful life, but to live to care for others no matter what the situation.

Years pass, and Kya has been able to live off the marsh all by herself. She has a great love of nature and starts to receive different feathers on a tree stump, given by a stranger. The stranger turns out to be a young man who used to be her brother’s friend, Tate. Tate is kind and decides to teach Kya how to read and write. The two end up deeply loving each other, but Tate goes away to college.

Feeling like Tate left her, just like everyone else in her life, Kya moves foward with her life. It’s not long before another young man, Chase Andrews, wants to start seeing her. Chase is pushy and demanding, but Kya still is charmed by him.

Did Kya murder Chase? Or, are the townspeople being too judgmental for thinking she’s guilty?

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING is a well-made drama with engaging, intriguing story and characters. There’s also an unexpected twist that viewers won’t see coming. The scriptwriter, Lucy Alibar, has done a good job adapting the bestselling book by Delia Owens. The locations in the movie are absolutely beautiful, and the acting is excellent.

However, the movie has a mixed worldview with some positive and even powerful Christian references, but also a humanist undertone. For example, the movie shows nature in a very humanist way, with the notion that people’s natural inclinations are okay to pursue and are due to being a product of their human nature. At the same time, the movie has a married Christian couple who are Christians who care for the main character, even though doing so may be harmful to them. One of the characters recites a powerful Bible verse. Eventually, however, the movie’s humanist attitude seems to dominate. Finally, WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING has some heavy themes about physical abuse, foul language and two sex scenes. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution.