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Where the Crawdads Sing, directed by Olivia Newman, is a mystery drama movie based on Delia Owens' eponymous novel. The film follows the story of an abandoned and daring girl named Kya who becomes the prime suspect after the town's local quarterback is murdered.
The critics' score for Where the Crawdads Sing is 34% on Rotten Tomatoes, while the audience score is 96%. Daisy Edgar-Jones, who played the lead role of Kya in the movie, discussed this mixed reception in an interview with Elle published on March 25, 2025.
"Where the Crawdads Sing didn’t get great reviews, but it’s been the thing that most people come up to say they loved. For some people, it’s their favorite film. How amazing is that? And I had the best time, and I think it’s a great film," the actress said.
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Edgar-Jones also reflected on her perspective about this, saying:
"Art is so subjective, and you can’t control how people respond. You can only do something with goodwill and to learn something from it yourself, I suppose. And then how people respond is because of their context and what they need."
Olivia Newman on why she cast Daisy Edgar-Jones in Where the Crawdads Sing
Olivia Newman made her feature directorial debut with the movie First Match, which was released in 2018 and is based on her 2010 short film of the same name. The film premiered at the SXSW film festival.
Where the Crawdads Sing was Newman's second feature film as a director, and she knew exactly what she was looking for when it came to casting the lead character, Kya. She found that in Daisy Edgar-Jones, however, Olivia was not sure if the actress was capable of "surviving alone in a marsh". In an interview with IndieWire published on July 7, 2022, Newman said:
"We had a directing workshop over Zoom, and we did this audition where we did a few takes of each scene, and her very first take out the gate, she had me in tears. I felt like I was hearing the voice of Kya come out of this young British woman over Zoom. She had that quality of a movie star from that very first meeting."
Read more: Where the Crawdads Sing: Full list of cast explored
Daisy Edgar-Jones on learning to care less about people's judgment
Daisy Edgar-Jones began her professional acting career with a role in the British comedy-drama TV series Cold Feet. She gained recognition for portraying the lead character, Marianne, in the BBC TV series Normal People, based on Sally Rooney's novel of the same name.
Edgar-Jones' performance in Normal People earned her nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a British Academy Television Award. She has since appeared in several movies such as Twisters, Fresh, and most recently, On Swift Horses.
In the above-mentioned interview with Elle, the Under the Banner of Heaven actress said that while she wanted to be a part of acclaimed projects and ones that connect with people, she also wanted to be "brave" and "fearlessly approach" her work. She explained:
"You can’t do that if you’re too worried about whether something’s good or bad. You can only connect with whether you find something truthful, and if it speaks to you, then give it your all. I want to stop being concerned about anything other than what’s in front of me."
Where the Crawdads Sing is available to stream on Hulu.
