A Popcorn/Crawdad Afternoon

 

It was the full-movie deal:  a good movie, a bag of popcorn with butter, a big bottle of water, air conditioning and a hauntingly beautiful and brilliant song by Taylor Swift accompanying the credits. 

Like millions of others, I read "Where the Crawdads Sing" a couple of years ago. 

I had first heard about the book on Facebook where author Delia Owens has been posting since it was first published. 

The facts that she had lived in Bonners Ferry, that we had just a couple of degrees of separation through friends and that people were spreading lavish praise about the book lured me fairly early on. 

I read page one and less than a week later the last most  intriguing twist in the story. 

Soon the news was out, especially on Delia's Facebook feed, that the book would become a movie and that popular actress Reese Witherspoon had taken it on. 

Like other readers, I was anxious to see the movie form.  This is always a bit scary because we get so invested in a well-written story that we can't imagine how Hollywood could maintain our initial passion.

It's always an awkward transition, it seems, from pages in a book to the big screen.  

Having now seen the movie, I would still give the book an edge, but I can imagine that most who hasn't read the book will love the movie. 

I felt comfortable with the screenplay which did not deviate too much from the original story. 

The producers has turned Delia Owens carefully crafted words into strikingly beautiful visuals of the marsh area, of Kya's home and her immediate surroundings and of the small southern town of 1950s yesteryear where a young Kya took her mussels to sell. 

All felt right to me.  What seemed especially satisfying and amazing was the casting.

Actors fit their roles pretty much the way I had envisioned while reading the book. I found Kya's movie role as a young adult slightly more sophisticated than the "marsh girl" I had imagined. 

Her little girl character, however, was spot on in my mind. Plus, her acting was superb.

The older Kya in the movie grew on me just as she had in the book. 

It also took me a short time to tune into Chase Edwards in the movie, but as scenes progressed, I found him more and more believable. 

One sign of a good movie for me is that I can't stop thinking about it and how it has affected me after I walk out of the theater. 

Yesterday, after leaving Bonner Mall Cinemas and walking to my car, the thermometer registered 100 degrees.

So my initial appreciation for "Where the Crawdads Sing" resulted from knowing that the movie had kept me in a cool place with just a handful of other viewers for a couple of hours. 

That said, while walking through the woods with Bridie this morning, appreciating my own natural surrounding and reflecting about our family kayaking trip through a serene and lovely wetland area on Saturday evening, I knew that the movie had truly resonated in a variety of ways. 

Plus, I've gained a new appreciation for the occasional feathers that suddenly appear, seemingly out of nowhere.

Delia Owens deserves acclaim for creating this story, and Reese Witherspoon has followed up by producing a movie very worthy of Owen's written words. 

And, to top it off, Taylor Swift has created a musical accessory which fits perfectly with "Where the Crawdads Sing." 

I think the crawdads would approve.