It tells the remarkable true story of athlete Diana Nyad who, at the age of 60 and with the help of her best friend and coach, commits to achieving her life-long dream: a 110-mile open ocean swim from Cuba to Florida.
Pam says:
For those of you who don’t know this woman’s story, she dreamed of being the first person, male or female, to swim from Cuba to the Florida Keyes. That’s 103 miles and more than 3 full days and nights in the water. The ultramarathon swimmer, failing at age 28, and looking in the rearview mirror of life, wanted to fulfill that dream…at age 60. Partnering with her best friend and coach, Bonnie (Jodie Foster), “Nyad” tells her story of determination, resiliency, and most importantly friendship and self-worth.
To read Pam’s review in its entirety, go to Reel Honest Reviews
Chuck says:
Though it is unavoidably hobbled by the conventions of the sports film genre, Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s “Nyad” proves inspirational all the same. Anchored by the one-two punch of Annette Bening and Jodie Foster, this true-to-life drama about swimmer Diana Nyad’s efforts to swim from Cuba to Florida is as much a character study as a crowd-pleaser. It succeeds thanks to its strong cast, tight script, and attention to detail regarding the meticulous preparation that went into this astounding achievement.
The film begins with archival footage of Nyad accomplishing one magnificent feat of swimming after another. Whether it was shattering speed and endurance records or swimming around the island of Manhattan or from the Bahamas to Florida, Nyad was always looking for a new challenge. The trial that came to haunt her was swimming the 103 miles from Cuba to Florida. And while this had been accomplished before by two others, those competitors did so with the aid of a traveling shark cage. Nyad decided to cover this distance without such help. Oh, and she was 60 years old when she decided to take this on.
“Nyad” recounts this part of the athlete’s life, documenting her extensive training, the many setbacks that needed to be overcome and the effect it had on her physical and mental states as well as those around her. As one of the writers and producers of the film, Nyad deserves credit for not tidying up some of her less-than-appealing qualities. She’s presented as self-absorbed, domineering, insensitive as well as hyper-sensitive and over critical.
Bening does a wonderful job bringing all these aspects to life. You can tell she’s reveling in bringing this complex woman to life, warts, and all. That you don’t wind up despising her and continue to root for her is a credit to the actor. The casting of Jodie Foster as Nyad’s best friend Bonnie Stall is a masterstroke. You need someone with an equal presence as Bening and few would be able to share the screen with her without being overshadowed, especially in the face of her fierce performance. Foster wisely underplays the role, providing an effective counterpoint to the overbearing titular character, grounding the film with a sense of logic and good humor in the face of the story’s many difficulties.
With Nyad co-writing the script with Julia Cox, the factual nature of these events is more exact than in other films of this ilk. The attention to detail is welcome as the behind-the-scenes look at all that goes into attempting a feat such as this proves fascinating. The always reliable Rhys Ifans provides solid support as John Bartlett, the navigator of the trip. Pouring over charts, adjusting Nyad’s route based on the latest weather information and constantly rechecking his data, these scenes are gripping. More time spent in this way would have been welcomed.
Though the film covers the five different attempts Nyad made, the pace never lags and, if anything, the repeated nature of these acts increases the tension. As numerous difficulties arise – jellyfish, sudden storms, sharks, a lack of sponsors – the solutions to these problems are not readily apparent. The answers that are found prove inspired, rewarding our patience. The movie is never less than intriguing.
Flashbacks throughout recount incidents of sexual abuse Nyad suffered at the hands of her high school coach. Though valid to explaining aspects of her character, they don’t mesh with the rest of the story. Perhaps if they’d been introduced from the beginning, these scenes may have seemed a more integral part of the story. As it is, their inclusion at the halfway point seems arbitrary and proves distracting.
Still, there’s no denying this is a compelling story, the final scene intercut with actual footage of Nyad’s triumph underscoring not simply her physical prowess but also the strength of her character. “Nyad” benefits greatly from the work of its two leads, but more so from the passion and tenacity of its subject, which is evident throughout.
3 Stars
