Nyad

Grade: B+

It’s practically a foregone conclusion that a movie made about Diana Nyad will be an easy slam dunk into feel-good territory. Netflix’s new film Nyad is definitely inspirational; it can’t help but be. Directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (Free Solo) try harder than they need to at jerking tears and lifting spirits. Nyad is one of the more absorbing, unforgettable movies of the year, and is anchored by two of the year’s best performances.

It’s an incredible true story, of which I had a rough outline of knowledge, but didn’t know most of the ins and outs. This means I was taking it in much like one would a fictional work. Skip over this paragraph if you’re planning on seeing it, don’t know much, and prefer to go in cold (no pun intended). Diana Nyad made headlines in 1979, at age 30, by attempting to swim from Cuba to Florida. 103 miles. It didn’t work out, but in 2010, she decided to start training and try again. The 5th time turned out to be the charm – and in August 2013, at age 64, she successfully made it all the way. The movie ends with her triumphantly setting foot on the Key West beach, followed by footage of the real Nyad on Oprah, Ellen, Dancing with the Stars, and more.

She is alive and well at 74, and played here by Annette Bening, in what should be another crowning achievement of her career. I picked up on traces of the best parts of her Oscar nominated performances from The Kids Are All Right and American Beauty. The movie focuses on the 2010-13 time period, when she gets bitten by the figurative bug to get back in the pool after a 30 year break – and try that Cuba-to-Florida swim again.

The directors instill a consistent feel of momentum and drive. I rarely paused to look how far along I was. Nyad couldn’t do that either. There’s such a craft on display with the camera, both underwater and over it. Bening is spectacular – the swimming alone is impressive – but Jodie Foster is my favorite performance here as Bonnie, Diana’s lifelong best friend and coach. It is her usual Foster spunk and no-nonsenseness, which ends up being just what the doctor ordered to play this real life character. If some of the one-on-one scenes between Bening and Foster seem blown up and overacted, well, this was a pretty high-stakes situation. I’d nominate both of them for an Oscar. I wouldn’t mind a dark horse Supporting Actor nomination for Rhys Ifans, who does some of his best work as companion boat driver John Bartlett. The real Bartlett died in late 2013. This was his last gig. In the film, Ifans basically just says “I’m sick,” with no further exploration. It’s unfortunate that it’s treated as a Movie Sickness for dramatic effect.

For so much of Nyad’s running time, I wasn’t mentally anywhere else but the world of the movie. If you want to feel inspired, be given a pep in your step, and see a great story you might not have heard about before, Nyad on Netflix is where to go. I’m grateful to the team who made it. I thank them for sharing this with us.

Grade: B+