J U LY 24, 2022
S U N D AYS I G N A L · 1 1
E N T E R TA I N M E N T
Daisy Edgar-Jones Shines in ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ By Richard Roeper Signal Contributing Writer
‘Where the Crawdads Sing’
(out of four)
3000 Pictures presents a film directed by Olivia Newman and written by Lucy Alibar, based on the novel by Delia Owens. Rated PG-13. In theaters.
Y
ou’ve never seen a Marsh Girl as attractive and kempt and impressive as the Marsh Girl in “Where the Crawdads Sing.” Even though she has lived all by herself in a rudimentary cabin deep in the wetlands for the better part of a decade with no formal schooling and very little social contact, she looks like she stepped out of a Sears catalog and apparently shaves her legs, bathes and shampoos on a regular basis, has lovely white teeth, and get this: She’s such a brilliant observer and student of her surroundings, such a talented artist, that she just sold a book of her drawings of seashells to a publisher and received a nifty $5,000 advance, and this is in 1969, so that’s about 40 grand in today’s dollars. Marsh Girl has it going on! And yet when Marsh Girl is literally hauled out of the water and charged with the murder of a local young man named Chase who is a former football hero, practically everyone in town is convinced she’s guilty, because after all, she’s that weirdo Marsh Girl, aka Missing Link, aka Wolf Girl. Nothing but a savage, they’ll tell ya. Of course she murdered Chase, because she knew she wasn’t good enough for him. This is one of the many eyebrowraising hitches in the plot of the uneven and at times implausible periodpiece drama “Where the Crawdads Sing,” and yet we are recommending it because Daisy Edgar-Jones (“Under the Banner of Heaven”) is luminous and spectacularly effective in the lead role, it’s one of the most gorgeously photographed films of the year, the invaluable David Strathairn provides terrific supporting work, and despite the problematic storyline, it works as an escapist piece of fantasy entertainment. Director Olivia Newman (“First Match”) and screenwriter Lucy Alibar
surroundings, getting to know all the the truth about this jerk and tries to extricate herself from his life, but the creatures great and small with the possessive and duplicitous and vioskill set of the untrained but talented lent Chase is having none of it. When scientist/author she will become. Chase is found dead in the marsh, A goodhearted and handsome loall signs and a considerable amount cal boy named Tate Walker (Taylor John Smith) takes a shine to Kya, first of circumstantial evidence point to Kya, which leads to the trial portion befriending her, then teaching her to of the movie, complete with witnesses read and write and eventually falling who are predisposed to judge Kya, a in love with her, and for this stretch district attorney dead set on convictof time the film plays like a soggy version of “The Notebook.” Tate goes ing her and a courtroom packed with observers who react on cue every off to the University of North Cartime a bombshell is dropped. After olina with the promise to return to the verdict adsource@exhibitorads.com is read, we’re given an epiKya onClarita the FourthSignal of July, but in a Laemmle Theatres • Santa logue that spans a number of decades heartbreakingly effective scene, Kya 888.737.2812 f. 203.438.1206 3col (4.75”) x 5.9”IMDB spends the night on the beach alone and feelsp.rather rushed but provides PHOTO COURTESY and wakes up devastated because Tate a measure July 24-28, 2022of suitably satisfying albeit insertion date: (“BeastsAd of the Southern Wild”) have Sunday-Thursday, melodramatic closure. never showed. been tasked with adapting one of the Ad creation/delivery date: Tuesday, July 19, 2022 at 11:21:06 AM CASCS_LEM0724-0728.qxp Thanks in large part to the beautiA year or so later, another handmost successful books in recent histoful work by Edgar-Jones and the consome local comes calling. Chase ry: the 2018 novel of the same name sistently stunning visuals, “Where the Andrews says all the right things as by Delia Owens, which sold a whopCrawdads Sing” provides just enough he courts Kya, but there’s something ping 12 million copies after being semarshland entertainment to carry the off about this guy. Against her betlected by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello day. ter judgment, Kya allows Chase into Sunshine Book Club. (Witherspoon Copyright 2022 Chicago Sun-Times her heart, but she eventually learns is one of the executive producers of the movie.) With Louisiana filling in for North Carolina, the time-jumpTM ing storyline is faithful to the novel, telling the story of one Catherine Danielle Clark, aka Kya, who is but 6 years old by the time her mother, then her older siblings and finally her 22500 Lyons Ave. info Line 310.478.3836 abusive father abandon their marshland cabin, leaving Kya to fend for herself. Somehow the girl survives NOPE E 1:00 4:10 7:15 The film reunites Peele with Oscar® winner Daniel Kaluuya who is joined by Keke Palmer and Oscar® nominee Steven Yeun as for years, with the occasional help of residents in a lonely gulch of inland California who bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery. Mabel (Michael Hyatt) and JumpMRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS B Sun: 1:30 4:30 7:20; Mon: 1:30 4:30; in’ (Sterling Macer Jr.), a local couple Tue: 4:30 7:20; Wed: 1:30 4:30 7:20; Thu: 1:30 4:30 In partnership with the House of Dior, Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris tells the story of a widowed cleaning lady in 1950s London who falls who own a nearby grocery store and madly in love with a couture Dior dress. She works, starves and gambles to raise the funds, then embarks on a life-changing adventure in Paris. seem to exist solely for the purpose of PAWS OF FURY: THE LEGEND OF HANK B 1:20 4:20 quietly and kindly looking after Kya
NEWHALL
Bringing the Finest in Film to the SCV!
whenever they can. (Jojo Regina does wonderful work portraying Kya as a little girl, with Edgar-Jones picking up the role when Kya is a teenager and young woman in her 20s.) It’s 1969 when the adult Kya is arrested and charged with the murder of upscale townie Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson). Retired attorney Tom Milton (David Strathairn), who is right out of the “To Kill a Mockingbird” playbook, volunteers to take Kya’s case and tells her he can’t defend her unless he gets to know her, at least a little bit. Cue the flashbacks to the 1950s and early 1960s, as we see how Kya becomes one with her
A hard-on-his-luck hound Hank finds himself in a town full of cats who need a hero to defend them from a ruthless villain’s evil plot. With help from a reluctant teacher, our underdog must team up with the villagers to save the day. The only problem - cats hate dogs!
WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING C 1:10 4:10 7:10
Kya, an abandoned girl who raised herself to adulthood in the dangerous marshlands of North Carolina, finds herself drawn to opens herself to two young men from town.
THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER C 1:20 4:20 7:20
“Thor: Love and Thunder” finds Thor on a quest for inner peace. But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer, Gorr the God Butcher, who seeks the extinction of the gods.
MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU B 1:00 3:10 5:20 7:30
A young Gru joins forces with his new Minion friends to take on the supervillain supergroup The Vicious 6.
ELVIS C 7:00 PM
“Elvis” is Oscar-nominated filmmaker Baz Luhrmann’s musical drama about the life and music of Elvis Presley, seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker
TOP GUN: MAVERICK C 1:10 4:00 7:00
After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot.
FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH E Thu: 7:30 PM
A coming-of-age story chronicling a group of high school students growing up in southern California as they engage in the pursuit of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll.
NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: THE BOOK OF DUST / LA BELLE SAVAGE Mon: 7:30 PM; Tue: 1:00 PM
Two young people and their dÊmons, with everything at stake, find themselves at the centre of a terrifying manhunt. In their care is a tiny child called Lyra Belacqua, and in that child lies the fate of the future.
WWW.LAEMMLE.COM
FOR 7/24/20227/28/2022 ONLY
