With echoes of Peyton Place director Olivia Newman follows the life in flashbacks of Catherine Clark (Daisy Edgar-Jones) through her life, lived mostly alone in the back waters of North Carolina.
The film is edgy its times but not consuming. It is more of a travelog through the marsh lands of Catherine’s kingdom. The photography is worthy, but the flow of the story is presented in a soap opera fashion which limits it’s worth as a drama.
David Strathairn’s work as a careful southern attorney is the best in the film. It is quite like Lloyd Nolans’ doctor in Peyton Place.
Crawdad’s is not compelling and the story not veiled sufficiently to be any more than slick soap.