I honestly am shocked. I thought Netflix made the best possible movie about aquatics with The Swimmers last year. Turns out, Annette Benning and Jodie Foster got pretty close. Nyad puts a different spin on the underdog tale, swimming into the hearts of anyone who watches it through sheer force of will. Michael Phelps ain’t got nothing on Diana Nyad, only the Madrini sisters got her beat.
Even before the events of Nyad, Diana (Annette Benning) had an amazing life and career. Taking her adopted father’s last name seriously, Diana Nyad became a celebrity long distance swimmer, completing swims around New York, Italy and Florida, while writing novels and appearing on ESPN and late night talk shows. By 2010, 60ish year old Diana has settled into her Florida retirement, going through the motions with her best friend Bonnie (Jodie Foster). But she couldn’t get that one big Moby Dick like distance swim out of her head: the Cuba to Florida, 110 mile odyssey she attempted once in the 1970s but couldn’t do. This last big swim gives Diana purpose, pushing her aging body to the limits, with Bonnie coaching her, and Gulf Navigator Jon Bartlett (Rhys Ifans) planning her journey through the swim so she can finally finish her life’s work.
Nyad is better than it has any right to be, because of Julia Cox’s well thought out screenplay. Building the story around Diana’s mental fortitude, the movie shows how much Diana has learned and still has to learn about this epic feat of physical and mental strength. Cox opts to immerse us in the details of this journey, specifically the myriad of pitfalls. 60 year old Diana prepares for some off the bat: hiring Jon to plan the most efficient journey, using Bonnie’s coaching gifts to help motivate her, preparing for shark attacks, etc. But each time Diana thinks she’s figured things out, she finds some new obstacle to overcome. Some of these are new physical challenges, but many of these are mental hurdles she hasn’t quite overcome yet even in her 60s. Diana is forced to learn even more lessons about herself in order to have everything just right so she can really attempt to finish this swim…before her physical time runs out.
Annette Benning and Jodie Foster elevate Nyad’s script above your standard sports movie fare. Benning really swam a lot of the scenes in this movie, putting in the physical work. That choice really helps the performance, as Benning makes us feel the effects of what Nyad was going through all alone in the dark during those long distance swims, from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. But the movie couldn’t just be about Diana’s swimming. Jodie Foster is overqualified as essentially the “support,” but she gives the movie an emotional beating heart, quasi playing the Salieri to Diana’s Mozart. The big emotional highs of the movie aren’t just Benning’s: it’s the pair of them, overcoming an obstacle together.
We don’t see a lot of sports movies about near retirement women. Nyad shows everyone that it’s never too late to finish your dreams, if you’re willing to put in the work, and really find some people to trust and share the success with. Thank God swimming from Cuba to Florida isn’t one of my dreams though: there’s too many scary sea creatures I want nothing to do with in the wild. I’m happier on land near a city thank you very much.