Nyad (2023)

I struggle with inspiring "true" stories ripped from the headlines. I find them often trite and a little dishonest. For me Nyad falls in to some of the traps of this genre in telling the story of famous marathon swimmer Diana Nyad in her later in life achievement of swimming from Cuba to Florida but mostly it overcomes them. Specifically much of this comes from the commanding performance of Annette Bening who is up to the task of bringing this champion to life. 

Nyad does a number of things right. I love how it focuses on the later achievements of athlete making this less about just her sheer remarkable prowess but about overcoming ageism and a certain amount of mysogyny too.  I also appreciate how it handled her experience as a sexual abuse survivor in a very tasteful and empowering way that never paints her as victim. So much of this is handled so well by the two leads, actors who are at the top of the profession. 

The film does play into the whole underdog overcoming and inspiring teamwork cliches but it's hard to fault it for that. These aren't bad messages to get out even if they are a little on the clunky side. But Nyad chooses to use archival footage of the real Diana letting Bening take on the dramatic aspects, reminding us just how recent this history truly is and and amazing her achievement is. Whatever sentimentality it might slip into, it's hard not to watch Nyad and not be inspired just a bit. 

Nyad
Starring: Jodie Foster, Annette Bening, Rhys Ifans

Directors: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin 

Writer: Julia Cox