NYAD – Movie Review

Posted by Jennifer Merin on Oct 14, 2023 | 0 comments

Anyone age five or older in 2023 most likely knows of the exploits of Diana Nyad, the legendary long distance swimmer who at long last conquered her long-standing goal of swimming the 110 miles of open sea from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida. She was age 64 when she dove into her fifth attempt to swim the distance and, despite daunting odds, reached Key West after some 53 hours in the water. She worked with a team of 35 supporters, including a coach, navigator, and crew who accompanied her in kayaks with electronic shark repellants, and the record-breaking ‘adventure’ cost around $500,000.

Those are the impressive and intriguing basic facts of the truth-based Nyad, a biographical drama directed by well-known documentarians Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, scripted by Julia Cox and Diana Nyad, and starring Annette Bening as Diana, Jodie Foster as coach (and best friend) Bonnie Stoll and Rhys Ifans as navigator John Bartlett, who was essential to the mission’s success.

Nyad is Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s first narrative feature, and their observational directorial style works extremely well with the film’s documentary-like reenactments, and the occasional integration of archival footage is always appropriate. But they also handle dramatic relationship scenes beautifully. Their directorial style establishes an effective and engaging story flow throughout and they never let our focus stray from the essential theme and through line of the film.

With Claudio Miranda’s remarkable above and below the water line cinematography, the film shows Nyad’s swim so effectively that you often feel like you’re in the water with her and you actually get a visceral sense of her exhaustion and her will to persist.

At age 64, Annette Bening brings authenticity and a full understanding of Diana’s determination and her physical challenge to her performance — not only during the reenactment of the open ocean swim, but also to Diana’s commitment to make this ‘last swim’ a legend-making inspiration to defy ageism and bolster the notion that women supporting women make for the mastery of all sorts of challenges.

Casting of Nyad couldn’t have been better. The depth of the positively enabling lifelong friendship between Nyad and Bonnie Stoll is captured in full by Bening and Jodie Foster, whose onscreen chemistry is completely believable and quite stunning. The warmth and unquestioning mutual support of their friendship is palpable. Off screen, both actresses are keen supporters of women in film and their commitment shows clearly their generous performances in this film. Brava casting directors Valerie Daniella Hernandez Oloffson and Avy Kaufman!

Netflix releases the film theatrically on October 20, and will offer it online starting November 3.

FILM DETAILS:

Title: Nyad

Directors: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin

Release Date: October 20, 2023

Running Time:

121 minutes

Language: English

Screenwriters: Julia Cox and Diana Nyad

Distribution Company: Netflix