Now see here. I liked this movie. I was entertained, parts of it were beautiful and there was never a moment where I felt unfulfilled. It's a compelling story with fine actors and the cinematography was top notch.
But a lot of the story was pedestrian. Predictable. Corny, in places, instead of touching. I felt, by the end, that the movie was not as deep as it professed to be and thought maybe the plot would have been better served if they'd shot for grittiness instead of beauty.
I mean, Kya was a gritty character. She was tough. A survivor, hardened by life of abandonment and by a long struggle for acceptance. But the character never really came across that way. She was always presented as vulnerable. Soft. Tender. I understand that's an important side of the character, but a person who lives that kind of life will have a flaw or two yet we never see those. Kya is presented as almost angelic and while that works in places, it rather deflates any sense of realism.
I thought for sure at the end, we'd actually see how the killing of Chase went down. After all, as the lawyer pointed out, the state's case against Kya was ludicrous. She somehow crept back over the miles in the wee hours of night without being recognized by a single person on the bus? She somehow lured Chase out of his home and away from his rather possessive family and then somehow enticed him to the top of the tower out in the middle of the swamp? She then either overpowered or outwitted him enough to send him sailing down through the bye-bye hole, covered all her tracks, made another phantom bus ride back to Asheville only to appear unscratched, unbruised and unruffled the following morning?
Please. The jury acquitted Marsh Girl because that's one hell of an unlikely scenario, so if the movie makers are trying to tell me that's how it went down, I'd like to at least get a glimpse of how she pulled it off.
But whatever. It was an enjoyable watch, Kya prevailed and they never did put those condos up in the middle of that awesome marsh. All's well that ends well, I guess.
But a lot of the story was pedestrian. Predictable. Corny, in places, instead of touching. I felt, by the end, that the movie was not as deep as it professed to be and thought maybe the plot would have been better served if they'd shot for grittiness instead of beauty.
I mean, Kya was a gritty character. She was tough. A survivor, hardened by life of abandonment and by a long struggle for acceptance. But the character never really came across that way. She was always presented as vulnerable. Soft. Tender. I understand that's an important side of the character, but a person who lives that kind of life will have a flaw or two yet we never see those. Kya is presented as almost angelic and while that works in places, it rather deflates any sense of realism.
I thought for sure at the end, we'd actually see how the killing of Chase went down. After all, as the lawyer pointed out, the state's case against Kya was ludicrous. She somehow crept back over the miles in the wee hours of night without being recognized by a single person on the bus? She somehow lured Chase out of his home and away from his rather possessive family and then somehow enticed him to the top of the tower out in the middle of the swamp? She then either overpowered or outwitted him enough to send him sailing down through the bye-bye hole, covered all her tracks, made another phantom bus ride back to Asheville only to appear unscratched, unbruised and unruffled the following morning?
Please. The jury acquitted Marsh Girl because that's one hell of an unlikely scenario, so if the movie makers are trying to tell me that's how it went down, I'd like to at least get a glimpse of how she pulled it off.
But whatever. It was an enjoyable watch, Kya prevailed and they never did put those condos up in the middle of that awesome marsh. All's well that ends well, I guess.