Ahead of its release, the buzz surrounding Where the Crawdads Sing was as loud as the birds circling the film’s swampy marshland setting.
Unfortunately, this anticipated drama only treads water.
Adapted from the 2018 novel by Delia Jones, a runaway hit with more than 15 million copies sold, expectations were high due to the talent involved.
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It is produced by Hello Sunshine, a company founded by Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon, with a mission to place “women at the centre of every story we create, celebrate and discover".
The director is Olivia Newman, who announced herself with the impressive 2018 wrestling drama First Match. Taylor Swift also wrote an original song, Carolina, for the film.
Meanwhile on the screen, British actress Daisy Edgar-Jones leads a solid cast of fresh and seasoned talent, including Harris Dickinson and David Strathairn.
But despite all of the creative firepower involved, the effort in turning the atmospheric and powerful novel into an arresting cinematic experience has been left wanting.
A key reason is it doesn't know what story it wants to tell — a trap screen adaptations often fall into when taking on multilayered novels.
Lack of nuance and characterisation
Primarily set within a two-decade period beginning from the early 1950s, the film follows the life of Catherine "Kya" Clarke as she grows up amid the swamps of the North Carolina marshlands.
To say her upbringing is challenging is an understatement.
Living just above the poverty line with an alcoholic and abusive father, Kya lives a solitary life in the family home and is shunned by the townspeople.
It is an arrangement that also suits her.
Disdaining to the bustle and gossip of the crowds, she instead forges her connection with the birds and botanical life of the marshlands.
That existence is shattered with the death of Chase Andrews, a young personality from a respected family.
With the body found under mysterious circumstances near Kya's home, the ire of an already suspicious town is aimed at her. Before long she is charged with murder and fighting for her life in court.
This is all swiftly set up within the opening 15 minutes of the film, thus positioning the narrative as a promising legal thriller.
However, once the film ditches the linear format of the book and flashes back and forth between the past and present, it seriously begins to lose shape and focus.
Where the book allowed us to see the evolution of Kya’s character, from the silent barefooted child to a strong, passionate and determined adult, we are instead treated to an abridged version of that growth.
As a result, nuanced characterisation and some of the issues raised by the novel are diluted or lost.
Kya’s transition from being illiterate to being able to read and publish books in a relative short period defies comprehension.
Her torrid relationships with the aforementioned Andrews and Tate Walker (Taylor John Smith) are treated with a lack of subtlety that leaves the film resembling a southern state version of The Notebook at various times.
All of this would have been acceptable if the film stayed true to the bigger picture.
In the early court scenes, Kya’s lawyer, Tom Milton (Strathairn) frames the case as a stress test of society’s ability to deliver justice to the marginalised.
However, the film doesn’t delve into the social fault lines defining that period.
The economic marginalisation faced by marshland families, which in Kya’s case contributed to the domestic violence at home, is glossed over.
Meanwhile the racism inherent within that era in the American deep south is acknowledged with a throwaway comment.
The end result is a whiplash of a viewing experience.
The tonal incoherence made me feel like I was watching different films at once, while the surface level depth of the screenplay by Lucy Alibar left me mostly disinterested by the time the payoff comes at the end.
Strong performances
That said, kudos to a cast who did the best with the material offered.
Expect Edgar-Jones to go onto bigger and greater things, not to mention award nominations, for her committed performance.
Strathairn channels his inner Atticus Finch with a stately turn as the lawyer Milton, while the simmering malevolence behind Dickinson’s portrayal of Andrews gives the film a sorely needed edge.
Where the Crawdads Sing whimpers where it should have soared.
CHELSEA SQUAD
Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Rudiger, Christensen, Silva, Chalobah, Sarr, Azpilicueta, James, Kenedy, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Saul, Barkley, Ziyech, Pulisic, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Havertz, Lukaku.
ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
The struggle is on for active managers
David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.
The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.
Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.
Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.
Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.
At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Saudi Cup race card
1 The Jockey Club Local Handicap (TB) 1,800m (Dirt) $500,000
2 The Riyadh Dirt Sprint (TB) 1,200m (D) $1.500,000
3 The 1351 Turf Sprint 1,351m (Turf) $1,000,000
4 The Saudi Derby (TB) 1600m (D) $800,000
5 The Neom Turf Cup (TB) 2,100m (T) $1,000,000
6 The Obaiya Arabian Classic (PB) 2,000m (D) $1,900,000
7 The Red Sea Turf Handicap (TB) 3,000m (T) $2,500,000
8 The Saudi Cup (TB) 1,800m (D) $20,000,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Tentative schedule of 2017/18 Ashes series
1st Test November 23-27, The Gabba, Brisbane
2nd Test December 2-6, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
3rd Test Dcember 14-18, Waca, Perth
4th Test December 26-30, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
5th Test January 4-8, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
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