Just finished watching "Where the Crawdads Sing" on Netflix. One of the best movies I have

[doc03]

seen in years.

[MLAA]

1. I enjoyed it as well.

[leftieNanner]

2. The book is excellent

Wonderful characters and evocative writing

[JohnSJ]

3. Book was terrific

[h2ebits]

4. I watched it last night and also thought it wonderful.

[wryter2000]

5. Thanks

I'm always looking for good things to watch on Netflix

[central scrutinizer]

6. I recommend

Midnight Diner, a Japanese series

[wryter2000]

11. Thank you

I’ll put it on my list.

[unc70]

7. I really disliked the movie and the book

I am strongly biased against this unhinged fiction. I grew up in the time and place it is set. Nothing about the story, the setting, or the times are true. It was so awful, it could not be filmed in where it was supposedly set. Nowhere in NC looks like what the book describes.

The species described are a hodgepodge of fresh and saltwater, mostly from other regions.

Hurricane Hazel in 1954 would have wiped clean (>95%) the islands and shorelines along this fictional locale along with the real ones.

The coast of NC is not a day trip from Asheville, not now and certainly not in the 1950s.

The "hills" in Greenville, NC are a laugh; SC, maybe, but wouldn't fit the plot.

British actors playing Southerners -- what is this? Gone with the Wind?

And so much more.


Enjoy the movie, but realize the author seems a fraud. (Maybe worse) The book, a fantasy.

[ShazzieB]

8. I haven't read the book, or seen the movie, but wow...

Hills? In Greenville, NC?

I almost burst out laughing at that! My husband and I lived there for 3 years in the 1980s, and I remember it well. Flat as the proverbial pancake. There's not much in the way of hills in NC at all, once you get out of the Appalachians, and Greenville is in the coastal plain, which is the flattest part of all.

Also, Asheville to the coast is over 6 hours each way, at today's interstate highway speeds. I can't even imagine how much longer it took in the 1950s. How odd.

I got curious enough to look up where Delia Owens (author of the book) is from, and Wikipedia says she was born and raised in southern Georgia. She spent a little time in Asheville, but I have a feeling she may not have ever gotten any farther east, which may help explain her "fanciful" depiction of North Carolina geography.

This almost makes me want to read the book, just to see what else she got wrong about the Tarheel State!

[unc70]

9. One of the Greenville NC hotels in the book is the Piedmont!!

I only read this mess of a book because a close friend gave it to me because she thought I would love it.

I had to force myself to continue when the book failed to even mention Hurricane Hazel in 1954.

[Baitball Blogger]

10. Agreed.

Loved the way it was presented. There was a feeling of isolation about the whole thing that came through. And in the end, a total understanding that it could never had ended any other way.

[milestogo]

12. I watched it over the weekend and I loved it.

[bif]

13. Probably watching it tomorrow.

Looking forward to it.

[bif]

14. Truly enjoyed it (Spoiler alert)

Last edited Wed Nov 16, 2022, 11:52 PM - Edit history (1)

But I had a problem with the ending. I thought it should have ended when she reconnected with Tyler(?). It would have been perfect. Instead they rushed through them getting older and her dying in what? Ten minutes? It seemed kind of weird.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

17. Spoiler alert ****

I totally agree with you that was a very strange ending. And my sister had to set me straight because I thought that the original boyfriend, the good one, was the actual killer was the actual killer and she knew that. All I remember was him throwing that hat at her. With the red fibers. So that was kind of a shocker . The book wasn't based on a true story, was it


The landscape reminded me a lot of the Louisiana bayous.

[NJCher]

15. Conflicted, now more than ever

Started watching it but just about abandoned it because I don’t like stories of abuse.

Then I started reading this thread and saw where so many liked it, so I continued on.

Began getting wary when she was treated so disrespectfully in school and the teacher overlooked it. She drops out and thinks her education will be the outdoors.

Now a person willing to tutor shows up and, as an educator, I begin having all kinds of problems with it. First, while reading is fundamental to an education, it is not a substitute for the kind of education we offer children in the US. I worry that she’s going to get reading and not much else. What about chemistry. What about math? What about music and art?

My next problem is the idea that a tutor can bring this kid up to speed like what is portrayed in the movie. Tutoring and teaching is really hard work, and this movie only portrays the joyful aspects of it, which is only about 20 per cent of the time.

Are we seeing a pattern here?

It seems as though those of us who know anything about the movie, such as the geography of the place, find the credulity the producer expected to be a bridge too high.

At this point I think I’ll abandon it, but haven’t completely decided.

[bif]

16. I would say just watch it.

It's just a two-hour movie. Nothing that's going to change your life. She ends being self taught and isn't lacking in anything education-wise.