Diane Nyad, a 64-year-old retired American open water swimmer, swam from Havana, Cuba, to Key West, Florida, in one go in 2013. An exciting biopic about this monster journey can be seen on Netflix.
Open water swimming usually does not produce spectacular (or let’s put it honestly: rather boring) images, but director duo Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi succeed in the true story. Nyad to portray such a monotonous swimming trip in an entertaining and at times chillingly exciting way. This is not least due to Annette Benning, who plays Nyad, but also to Jodie Foster, who plays her coach and best friend Bonnie.
Sharks and jellyfish
The journey takes sixty hours through the Strait of Florida, a notorious route full of jellyfish, storms, violent currents and sharks. Doctors and experts advise Diane against swimming these 180 kilometers, especially at her age.
But after a few failed attempts due to an allergic reaction and incorrect navigation, the swimmer finally succeeded. End of story. But in Nyad the makers are so close to their possessed protagonist that you keep watching. What drives this woman? How does she hold up? When does she reach a limit and what does she do?
Cadence
Nyad is a very American film, with the big moral that persistence pays off, that the perseverant wins, etc. Anyone who closes their eyes and ears to this will be enchanted by the endless blue through which Diane cleaves determinedly, in a beautiful cadence, with long, regular strokes… only a 64-year-old woman can do that, you would almost say.
Nyad (2023): available on Netflix.