Nyad Review | Annette Bening Keeps This Compelling Marathon Swimmer Biopic Afloat

Whether it be the fear of the unknown, the deceptive volatility of a vast body of salty minerals guided by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon, or simply its flagrant indifference for the insignificant mortals that pass through it, there’s something deeply unnerving about the ocean. The sheer expansiveness of what often seems like an endless watery chasm with a sheet-like cover that merely acts as a guise for the alien life that lurks beneath the surface is enough to put many off going beyond the buoys. Although, not Diana Nyad.

The open-water marathon swimmer has spent her life defying the odds and redefining what’s possible when it comes to the dare-devilish art of extreme sport. The American swimmer’s truly extraordinary journey perhaps lent itself more to being made into a documentary, and after her fascinating tale was picked up by revered documentarians in Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin of the Academy Award-winning Free Solo, one’s natural conclusion was certainly that Nyad would be heading for factual coverage on National Geographic or the like. However, this project would symbolize a departure for the directorial pair, making their narrative feature debut.

A Relentless Woman Swims the Atlantic

Netflix

Annette Bening assumes the role of the superhuman swimmer, Diana, putting her best foot forward in what seems like a decisive clutch at the Best Actress statuette. Kicking-off in 2011, the film opens with a 60-year-old Diana with lifelong bud, Bonnie Stoll (played by a bespectacled Jodie Foster), winding down during their pre-retirement years. Archival footage of the real Diana’s achievements is intercut with the opening sequences, with pictures of the then-20-something athlete conquering the impossible by swimming the 27-mile circumference of Manhattan before attempting and failing to swim from Cuba to Key West, Florida in 1978.

A visibly irked Nyad, well into her 30th year of retirement from the sport, is firmly consumed by her ongoing battle with existentialism. Her thirst for salty water, freezing temperatures, and an insatiable inner yearning to push her mind and body to the absolute limits of their respective capacities is this film’s driving force. After taking a dip in the pool for the first time in years, Nyad emerges from the tropical turquoise depths a rejuvenated woman, motivated, and very much under the impression she has still “got it.” Never far away from reminding people that her adoptive surname translates to “Water Nymph,” Nyad is reassured of her inborn destiny.

Related: The True Story of Netflix’s Nyad, Explained

Convinced she still has what it takes to finish what she couldn’t 30 years prior, Diana enlists the help of her reluctant best mate and closest confidant, Bonnie, to not only support her, but coach her from the deck as she embarks on months of training before attempting the 101-mile endurance swim. Newspaper clippings, TV bulletins, and a montage of ‘70s footage form cinematic intersections, where Chin and Vasarhelyi seem to lose their moviemaking instincts to their documentary-making backgrounds. This confusion of disparate methods of storytelling proved to be somewhat distracting and peculiarly misplaced, blurring the distinct lines between documentary and narrative a little too often.

Bening’s Refreshingly Honest Display as a Daredevil Swimmer

Netflix

The film documents all four of Diana’s attempts to make the perilous journey through the notoriously treacherous waters of the Atlantic. From life-threatening box jellyfish stings, shark-infested stretches, and navigational mishaps, to the small matter of an almost incalculable cross-current, many obstacles threaten to derail Diana’s safe crossing.

Related: The True Story of Netflix’s Nyad, Explained

Regularly cutting to flashbacks of her abusive childhood, the film does a sterling job of depicting Nyad as the complex enigma she is, and the traumatic reasons behind her extraordinary life choices. Annette Bening is in fine fettle throughout, fusing together impeccable comic timing, a steely resolve to take on the physical demands of the production, and a no-nonsense honesty which all taps into a career-defining performance and one that could finally win her an Academy Award, or at the very least, earn her a fifth Oscar nomination.

Bening and Foster Delight Together

Netflix

While the script, penned by TV writer Julia Cox, is hardly watertight, with a string of cheesy platitudes and clichéd one-liners enlaced throughout, Bening and Foster are worthy water-carriers. The pair share an effortless on-screen synergy as two gay women. Stubbornness in front of and behind the camera pervades this picture, with Bening’s Nyad driven by a single-minded, obstinate determination and Bonnie’s headstrong approach to Diana’s persistence make for a truly dramatic but endearing clash of personalities.

Unfortunately, the apparent stubbornness behind the lens detracts from what is otherwise a compelling tale of defiant courage. Whether it’s an unwillingness to deviate or simply an inability, Chin and Vasarhelyi’s chopping and changing between narrative and documentary creates a bewildering hybrid-like style. Nevertheless, Bening and Foster’s authentic portrayals truly help to lift Nyad any time it encounters troubled waters. Their seamless chemistry and faculty to guide the picture is a testament to what marvelous actresses they are. Despite several structural shortfalls and an unapologetic directness, Nyad tells a thoroughly engrossing account of a truly unique woman who emphatically demonstrates it’s never too late to chase your dreams.

Nyad will be released in select theaters Oct. 20 before heading to Netflix on Nov. 3.

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