It’s a fatal flaw and an inherent paradox of most biopics that they reduce a one-of-a-kind personality to an easily legible confluence of social forces and remarkable achievements to a linear series of causes and effects. Nyad, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin and written by Julia Cox, is unable to buck this trend, though it gains a degree of novelty from a subject whose fascinating life appears to be a confrontation with failure as much as a story of triumph. The film recounts the efforts of endurance swimmer Diane Nyad (Annette Bening) to complete a record-breaking swim from Florida to Cuba, a lifelong dream that she seeks to bring to fruition in her 60s, some four decades after her unsuccessful first attempt.
After a brief opening sequence that recaps her younger years with real-life footage from newsreels and her regular chat show appearances, we’re introduced to the fictionalized version of Diana as a somewhat prickly, antisocial woman, who seems never to have adjusted to the more mundane lifestyle that she’s had since quitting swimming for a career as a sports reporter. As she and her best friend and coach, Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster), reflect on the transformations and disappointments brought on by aging, the idea of getting back into the water is framed partly as a defiance of society’s diminished expectations for older people, particularly women.
With some dark childhood trauma and a supporting role for a cranky, seasoned boat captain (Rhys Ifans) thrown into the mix for good measure, this tale of courage, resilience, and single-minded ambition can’t help but feel a little trite, despite the impressive real-life events that inspired it. But Foster and Bening, both committed and unsentimental, do just enough to allow the emotional intensity of the scenario to overcome its clichéd foundation. Theirs is an easy chemistry, with Foster serving as a tough yet sensitive foil to Bening’s unstable tenacity.
There’s also something about the peculiarity of Diana’s Herculean endeavor that keeps the film engaging, particularly through its middle third. What might seem like a simple endurance task reveals itself to be a surprisingly elaborate combination of precise navigation through the ocean’s churning currents, regular nutrition breaks, and active protection from sharks and other deadly marine life. This is all presented in a relatively matter-of-fact way without excessive exposition, giving some of the action a satisfyingly immersive quality.
In addition to the physical strain, Diana’s exertions take their toll psychologically, causing frequent, unwelcome hallucinations. Unfortunately, the full implications of this phenomenon aren’t explored in an effective way. The painfully literal on-screen rendering of what she experiences internally robs her implied mental turmoil of its haunting power, reducing it to cheap-looking, unimaginative visuals. More misguided still are the gauzy flashbacks to Diana’s abuse at the hands of an authority figure, which can feel exploitative at times, as well as implying that her superhuman stamina could be reduced to a mere coping mechanism.
The collaborative nature of Diana’s achievement is welcomingly emphasized throughout the film, of a piece with its touching portrayal of mature female friendship, but the depiction of her struggle ultimately takes precedence over any further exploration of her personality. The fact that circumstances force the swimmer to quit multiple times does prevent the proceedings from becoming too predictable, but there’s not much insight into how this torturous progression toward her eventual goal might affect her attitude or perspective.
As the film wears on, Diana’s personal motivations are increasingly blurred, and to the point that she comes to be defined almost exclusively by the adversity over which she triumphs. At the close, more real-life footage of Diane Nyad that attests to her spontaneous charisma and idiosyncrasies only drives home the extent to which Vasarhelyi and Chin’s film reduces her to a mere symbol of hope and determination, albeit one with an undeniable force.
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The real Diane Nyad is almost universally regarded within the swimming community as a fraud and a liar, who has exaggerated or outright lied about nearly all of her achievements in order to enrich herself through public speaking engagements. In other cases she has disregarded or even actively defamed others in order to maintain her own hegemony on marathon swimming. She waged a campaign to de-legitimize another marathon swimmer who achieved the Manhattan swim before her. This film is pure brand building, propaganda intended to whitewash a reputation that only exists in the media, but has been all but destroyed in the area of swimming. I really think your review needed to take this into account.