Normal People star Daisy Edgar-Jones' new movie Where the Crawdads Sing has received some disappointing first reviews.
Based on Delia Owens' best-selling novel of the same name, Edgar-Jones plays Kya, or 'the marsh girl', who is abandoned by her family as a young girl to forge a life for herself in the North Carolina marshes.
Kya is shunned by her town and when she's arrested for the murder of Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson) who's beloved around the local area, she's left with only a few allies to fight for her innocence against a jury already predisposed to find her guilty.
Related: First look at Normal People's Daisy Edgar-Jones in new movie
The movie has been much-anticipated, but following its world premiere last night (July 12), first reviews seem to suggest that it was ultimately a bit of a disappointment, despite some flickers of promise.
In Digital Spy's review of the film, we wrote: "The movie adaptation of Delia Owens' novel, much like the source material, takes what could be a truly gritty story of poverty and class and shellacks it in a clean-girl aesthetic.
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"Daisy Edgar-Jones gives the role of Kya her all, but the movie can't shake the racist undertones that underpin the whole story. Its saving grace are the landscape shots, which are an A+ call for conservation of diverse ecosystems."
Read on to see what other critics thought of Where the Crawdads Sing.
The Times
"Even Edgar-Jones, at times firing on all cylinders as enfant sauvage Kya Clark, can’t quite save this much hyped adaptation from an overdose of syrup and some deeply dubious subtext."
The Hollywood Reporter
"The narrative depends heavily on racial and gender stereotypes and classist thinking to operate. Mabel and Jumpin’ exist to help Kya survive. Kya’s beauty and delicateness are so over-emphasized that she comes off more manic pixie dream girl than misanthropic protagonist. There is over-reliance on well-timed bombshells to keep us distracted."
The Guardian
"Where the Crawdads Sing never really had an interest in complications, or hardship, or racism as anything beyond wallpaper for its central nature girl fantasy of self-reliance. It would rather stay above the fray, gliding prettily along the marsh without actually getting dirty."
Vanity Fair
"This is the most basic kind of novel adaptation: rote and dutiful, reliant on memories of the book rather than creating a texture of its own. It is implied that characters are interesting – it’s insisted, really – but we never quite see it. They are mere functionaries walking the straight line of the plot, vessels for the story to get where it needs to go to satisfy fans of the book as they check off their lists of favorite scenes and snatches of prose."
Screen Daily
"Where The Crawdads Sing seethes with myriad social ills, but this adaptation of the Delia Owens bestseller proves to be an unconvincing, melodramatic affair that only occasionally locates the story’s mournful heart."
Paste
"Where the Crawdads Sing is shallow, predictable and just broad enough that you can understand why it sold so well as a half-lurid paperback. Newman’s work adapting it makes its derivative elements as obvious as a bad accent, but its chart-topping, tone-deaf mediocrity is faithfully replicated."
Where The Crawdads Sing will be released exclusively in cinemas from July 22.
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Social Executive, Entertainment Portfolio After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022, where she wrote across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. Following her internship, Iona continued contributing to the site as a freelance reporter, becoming social executive for the Hearst UK entertainment portfolio in summer 2025. Iona now leads the DS social channels, covering red carpets with stars such as Paul Mescal, Austin Butler, and more.
