Year of Release: 2023
Director: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
Starring: Annette Bening, Jodie Foster, Rhys Ifan, Jeena Yi, Luke Cosgrove, Erica Cho, Karly Rothenberg, Ethan Jones Romero
Genre: Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Netflix
Synopsis and Review
The directing duo of Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi have made a name for themselves as documentary filmmakers. They won the Academy Award for "Free Solo" and since then they released the well received "The Rescue" and the not so well received "Return to Space" and "Wild Life". "Nyad" is their first foray into narrative driven features, and follows the life of Diana Nyad, and her best friend Bonnie Stoll, in a phase of their lives where they go through the arduous process of getting Diana to swim in the open waters from Cuba to Key West, Florida. Diana tried to get that feat accomplished at an earlier age, and wasn't able to do so, but at the age of 61 (in 2010), she decides to try again, recruiting Bonnie to help and coach her through the process. They go through a series of trials, with Diana falling short of accomplishing her feat, but in no way deterring her from continuing, and in the process also alienating her team. After 4 unsuccessful attempts, and when it seems she has pushed everyone away, Diana finally manages to swim across, with the help of Bonnie, and her loyal team, even if her accomplishment isn't certified.
The synopsis for this film is an adequate description of what it focuses on, in the sense that there isn't much nuance or much reach beyond that description. It's a rather threadbare type of narrative, where the filmmakers are very interested in detailing the process of the swim, across its various attempts, and the impact that it has on Diana Nyad's physical and mental health, and of course on her team's disposition and willingness to continue that journey, but there isn't much to say other than that. The narrative tries to illustrate the justification Diana finds in herself to pursue that goal so ferociously, of how that was shaped in her childhood by her father and her coach, but the film's main storyline and the character arc itself simply don't coalesce. It's not so much that the central character isn't very likable or even pleasant, it's more the fact that nothing much of what makes this person/character what she is, has some perspective or dimension for the entirety of the film. For instance, we realize Diana and Bonnie were in a relationship years before, but nothing is ever revealed much about why they're alone, or for that matter, what does Bonnie even aim to do with her life, other than being consumed by Diana's goals. The whole focus of the film is the constant challenge to get through the act of swimming in the open waters, and that in itself just doesn't provide a sufficiently robust dramatic dimension to make this an interesting feature. It's not just the event that holds an audience's interest, it's the characters that inhabit it, and that's something the script and the directors didn't give enough attention in this film. What ultimately makes this watchable are the two lead actresses, Annette Bening and Jodie Foster, both worthy of any superlative adjectives that can be imparted on any working actor these days. They do turn flimsy to gold, and they do arrest our attention, but the film in itself doesn't have much to hang on to: the screenwriter simply doesn't do much with the material, and the filmmakers simply illustrate what's on the page, not really transcending it. The production team is impeccable, including Alexandre Desplat's score and Claudio Miranda's cinematography. It's watchable, and definitely well acted, but these actresses deserved a better film.
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