Where the Crawdads Sing: An Advanced Movie Screening

On July 11th, our book club had the opportunity to attend an advanced screening for Where the Crawdads Sing. The book released in 2018 from author Delia Owens. While we never read the book, we jumped at the chance to attend out first advanced movie screening. Below, we’ll share our experience attending and our thoughts on the movie.

The Plot

After being abandoned by her mother, father and siblings, Kya Clark lives alone in a small house in the North Carolina marsh. Everyone in Barkley Cove knows her as Marsh Girl, but few bother to interact with her. Raising herself, Kya knows everything about the marsh and how to survive on her own. Through the years, she only has two people to keep her company: Tate Walker and Chase Andrews.

Tate was Kya’s first love, but after leaving for college, he stops coming over. Then Kya meets the popular Chase, who shows an immediate interest in Kya. But thing are always complicated with him. Fast forward to 1969, Kya’s single and starting to make a career for herself, while still living in the same house on the marsh. One night when Kya is out of town, Chase Andrews is found dead in the marsh. Despite a lack of evidence, the town turns against Kya and she’s charged by the state for committing murder.

Local lawyer Tom Milton takes her case and is determined to see Kya go free. Kya doesn’t know what to do or who to trust because everyone in her life has left her at some point. But maybe things can get better so Kya can start living and create the future she deserves.

Our Thoughts on the Movie

We went into the movie theatre without knowing anything about the plot. We wanted a complete fresh perspective. We were sucked into the story quickly, wanting to know more about Kya and how she became the town pariah.

We liked how the story was framed around the trial regarding the murder of Chase and how Kya got to that point. The film was always clear when the year changed, from the present tense in 1969 to the past ranging from 1953 onward. The timeline also made sense, from Kya being alone to her falling for two very different guys.

While we were mad at Tate for ignoring Kya for all those years, we shipped them together. The actors had great chemistry from the start and we enjoyed watching them grow from childhood friends to something more. In terms of the other love interest, Chase, we knew he was sketchy from the start. He clearly had ulterior motives and we knew he couldn’t be endgame because of what happened to him.

We had our theories about what happened to Chase, but the ending completely surprised us. We won’t spoil anything, but the truth about Chase won’t be revealed until the very end. It made sense though and we should’ve seen it coming honestly.

Overall, we liked the unique plot and the cast of characters. We found Kya to be intriguing and her character development interesting. While we can’t speak for the book, if you’ve read it, let us know your thoughts in the comments and if you plan to see the movie.

The Experience

Honestly, we had no idea what to expect when we came prepared with our QR Codes to get into the event. The doors opened about 30 minutes before the movie and we waited in line until we were allowed into the theatre. Armed with drinks and snacks, it was first come first seating, so we chose the back row.

Two hours later, we left excited to discuss the film and eager to share our opinions. From everything to the scenery, to the trial, we all had a lot to say about what we watched.

We enjoyed our first advanced screening and hopefully there will be more in the book club’s future.