Nyad: LFF Film Review
Nyad, starring Annette Bening as the long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad, is a crowd-pleasing biographical sports drama that proves you’re never too old to achieve your dream.
In 1978, Diana unsuccessfully attempted to swim between Cuba and Florida aged 28 and soon retired from extreme endurance swimming. After many years of retirement, Diana decided that she had to try the route again – despite being in her 60s. She was met with scepticism due to her age but she was determined to finally become the first person to complete the swim without a shark cage.
Crossing the Straits of Florida is no picnic. Not only is the distance between Havana and Key West 110 miles (for comparison, the English Channel is 21 miles) but it is also filled with sharks, jellyfish and Portuguese man o’wars. Diana has to contend with those lethal sea creatures, the treacherous currents and the exhaustion of swimming for more than two days straight in order to achieve her dream.
I can’t resist a training montage, watching a team being put together, and seeing someone defy the seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against them so Nyad ticked a lot of boxes for me. By its very nature, it was repetitive in places – the repetition of the swimming was not a problem, but the repeated lines of dialogue and flashbacks were. However, that was the only drawback in an otherwise uplifting, rousing and occasionally funny film.
The heart of the story is the relationship between Diana and her best friend and former lover Bonnie (Jodie Foster). They love each other deeply and Bonnie sacrifices everything to become Diana’s coach. Yet, Diana is very self-centred and doesn’t realise Bonnie has put her life on hold to help her pursue her dream. This creates some juicy tension and adds a layer of drama outside of the water.
Diana and Bonnie were very well written and expertly brought to life by Bening and Foster, who were just delightful on-screen together and both looked in incredible physical shape. Plus, Rhys Ifans was a lovely addition to the team as their navigator John Bartlett.
Nyad is such a crowd-pleaser that the audience in my screening burst into applause at one point. If you want to watch a film that makes you feel empowered and inspired, this is for you.
Seen at the London Film Festival. In selected cinemas from Friday 20th October and on Netflix from 3rd November