Hey film fans! Slick Dungeon here back to review another Oscar nominated movie for you. This one tells the tale of a determined swimmer who achieved the nearly impossible, and did it far later in life than anyone would expect. The movie has two Oscar nominations, one for Annette Benning for Best Actress, and one for Jodie Foster as Best Supporting Actress. Do be warned there will be spoilers below for the film, and a sports event you could easily google. Still, if you hate that sort of thing just keep swimming away until you watch the movie and then swim on back here to read the review.

What’s it About?

You know how everyone is feeling super hero movie fatigue right about now? Well, I’ve had film fatigue for a different genre of film for a long time. The inspirational sports drama film fatigue. I honestly can’t say I have seen anything new in this kind of movie since Rudy. Typically in these films there is an athlete or a team with the desire to win something or do something that hasn’t been done in sports. The said athlete or team faces adversity and challenges and nearly gives up. But in the end something changes and they become more determined and push on through the obstacles to win said game, medal, record etc. It can be moving and inspiring but it’s nothing unexpected. I wish I could say Nyad pulled me out of this fatigue but far from it.

This is not to say the real life Diana Nyad is anything other than an incredible inspiration with an amazing story. And this is also not to say that there weren’t stand out performances in this film. I’m just saying you aren’t going to find anything you don’t expect here.

The film tells the tale of Diana Nyad (Benning) who tried several times in her life to swim the Straits of Florida unassisted until she accomplished her goal. This swim is one of the most difficult open water swims possible and everything from severe weather to dangerous ocean life, not to mention the currents themselves, could easily derail the best swimmers in history.

When she was young and a star swimmer in her twenties, Nyad attempts the swim. She does the best she can but ultimately she can’t make it.

We then fast forward to Diana in her sixties. She’s had a successful career and is basically troubled by the lack of exceptionalism in the world. Something, to her, is missing. She spends most of her time with her friend, Bonnie Stoll (Foster). Her life is happy enough but she wants more.

Diana decides to once again hit the pool. She’s pushing herself to the limits to see if she could make another attempt at the swim she failed at decades ago. She tells Bonnie about her plan to get back out there and attempt the swim again.

A team is assembled around Diana and soon we have all the pieces for her to make another attempt. In this attempt the ocean currents push her off course far enough she has to quit.

Determined not to give up, Diana tries once again. This time she is injured by a box jellyfish which can be lethal to humans. She nearly dies.

Still determined not to give up, Diana tries again, this time after consulting with an expert on jellyfish who helps her create a protective suit. She goes out once again but this time is defeated by disastrous weather conditions.

By this point, Diana’s team are all pretty tired of making the attempts and try to convince her to give up. It goes so far that several of her key supporters quit, including Bonnie, her coach.

Finally, still determined not to give up, Diana apologizes to some of the members of her team and they all gradually, if reluctantly agree to make one more attempt. This time they face dangers and challenges but luck, weather, and the marine life are all favorable enough that Diana is close to completing the swim. She gets close to giving up, but Bonnie, Nyad’s coach and friend, hops in the water to give Diana one last inspirational speech to push her through. At long last, after four failed attempts at the most difficult swim in the world, Diana does the impossible and completes the swim.

Throughout the film we see flashbacks of Nyad’s childhood and see that her father inspired her to want to do the swim in the first place. We also see the darker side of her life as we get flashbacks of a coach who abused several young female swimmers. It’s not until after this man dies that Diana truly confronts her trauma and it’s not until after this that she completes the swim.

Also throughout the film we see Bonnie inspiring, pushing, consoling, and sometimes angering Diana all in an effort to get Diana to push through and give her all. Diana’s obsession nearly ruins the lives of several people in her orbit but ultimately, through Bonnie’s leadership they prevail.

The Performances

While this type of movie may be a formula I am tired of, I can separate out the performances here. Annette Benning gives an impressive, if stoic performance. Physically this film must have taken a lot out of her as I am sure she had to spend hundreds of hours swimming. As far as the character of Nyad goes, she doesn’t seem to have much character growth. She basically goes from determined to even more determined. And while, in life, this makes for an interesting person, on film it feels rather dull. Annete Benning does transform well into her character but other than be determined enough to win the race, and mildly change her attitude towards her past and her teammates, not much happens here.

On the other hand, Bonnie, played by Jodie Foster, goes through a roller coaster of emotions. She has to deal with an entire team of people, including an athlete that is so obsessive she nearly bankrupts her whole team. Bonnie goes from reluctant coach to cheerleader, to caring friend, to knowing just the right thing to say at the right moment. Foster’s performance here is impressive and brings much needed life to the film. When Foster is encouraging Nyad to walk the few feet of sand she has to in order to ultimately complete the swim, you can feel how emotional it is for her. To be fair, Benning’s face was covered up with lots of prosthetics in this scene so it’s harder to read to begin with. But when the camera looks at Foster, it’s easy to see she is giving her all to the character.

I don’t know if either actress will win in their categories but between the two performances, I think Foster’s is the stronger of the two.

In Conclusion

The story truly is inspirational but I’m not sure the film does it full justice. The performances by the lead and supporting actresses are impressive but may not be the best ones of the year. The directing, cinematography and all the rest of it is fine but not incredible. The reason to watch is definitely for the performances but the rest is just what you would see in any of those inspirational sports films.

If you haven’t seen this movie and you are curious about the performances of the two actresses then give it a watch. But, if you are looking for inventive film making or a different kind of sports film, this is not going to scratch that itch. The most notable part of the story is the actual accomplishments of the real Diana Nyad and I think if you were to watch a documentary or read an article about her, you’ll likely find it more inspirational than the biopic here.

Swimmingly yours,

Slick Dungeon