‘NYAD’ Review: Jodie Foster and Annette Bening Lead Incredible True Story About Chasing Your Dreams
NYAD. Annette Bening as Diana Nyad in NYAD. Cr. Liz Parkinson/Netflix ©2023
She wanted to say three things: Never, ever give up. You’re never too old to chase your dreams. And third, it looks like a solitary sport, but it takes a team. Not only is that the last line of Netflix’s NYAD, but it is also a summary of the core message filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo) wanted to show. Those were the words spoken out by Diana Nyad when she completed the 110-mile swim that separates Cub and Key West, Florida, becoming, at 60, the first person ever to achieve such a thing. And though few accomplishments can remotely compare to that, the team behind the film definitely gave their best shot with a movie that never fails to be relatable, inspirational, and just a pure joy to watch. Here’s the thing too: Is that line only applicable to Nyad’s swimming feat, or is she also talking about life in general?
The story picks up three decades after Diana hung up the bathing suit, after her first attempt failed due to the complications that the open sea between both shores can present. She is played by Annette Bening, who makes the role her own and, in pure Nyad form, never loses her focus or lets any distractions get in her way. Bening’s incredible performance is as natural as the creatures she encounters in her several attempts throughout the course of the film, but Nyad is the classic strong-minded character that can usually get a Best Actor/Actress nomination from someone who decides to go over-the-top with it. But that is not the case for Bening — she plays her with her own set of quirks and distinct personality traits that are more typical of a determined and narrow-focused person (like one trying to achieve her lifelong dream) rather than a robotic version who thinks first about her and fourth about the person next to her (“It takes a team”).
She is joined on the acting front by a super-powered Jodie Foster, who plays such a refreshing character in her career, it’s almost a tragedy we don’t get to see this more often from her. Bonnie is Diana’s best friend, but her bond quickly moves from often Scrabble opponent to life partner once they embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Diana asks Bonnie to coach her, and though she’s initially very unsure that a 60-year-old woman can actually pull off such an athletic feat, she’s not really the type to say no to a friend. But most importantly, she sees the potential. She’s driven by the spirit that will overcome her once they are able to complete the mission; she lives for that feeling — and by extension, so does the audience. It is both the climax of the film and also its highest point, because by then, you fully understand the magnitude of the task and have also, somewhat, been along for the journey. It’s a feel-good story, yes, but it will actually get your heart pumping and draw a smile across your face. (Keep an ear out for Alexandre Desplat’s unsurprisingly beautiful score, too.)
NYAD. (L-R) Jodie Foster as Bonnie Stoll and Annette Bening as Diana Nyad in NYAD. Cr. Kimberley French/Netflix ©2023
Foster really made the movie for me. It’s a much more back-to-basics performance than Bening’s, and also much more relatable. Hers is a story about human connection, about friendship. (Didn’t I just read so many headlines about Gen Z looking for something like this in movies? This is your time!) And though she doesn’t get a ton of layers that we can see through her eyes and small facial movements, Julia Cox’s screenplay is very careful to give her all of the necessary nuances. Yes, she will stay by her friends’ side, but to what end? Is she willing to risk Diana losing her life because of her dream? Will she refuse to pull her out of the water if she believes she’s in mortal danger, just because she’s saying no? Perhaps that seems like a far-fetched situation at first, but as they go deeper and deeper into their sea-crossing journey, it will start to feel like a reality. And Foster plays all the sides beautifully here: She’s usually the jovial half of the duo, but the brilliance here is that once you see her getting worried, you really worry.
Saying that she eventually accomplishes her goal is not a spoiler, really, but rather what the movie is about. NYAD is not as much about what happens as it is about how it happens, and that’s where the brilliance of the Free Solo duo comes in. It is shot at times like a sports documentary, and they were as interested in how to depict the actual accomplishment in the best way they could as they were uninterested in giving their world-class actresses notes on how to do their jobs after decades in the industry. And that showed, because the bond between the two characters just felt right.
NYAD. (L-R) Jodie Foster as Bonnie Stoll and Annette Bening as Diana Nyad in NYAD. Cr. Kimberley French/Netflix ©2023
But they are not alone. The title cards at the end of the film, before the credits roll, say that to accomplish her 110-mile swim she need a team of 40 people. We don’t really have the time nor the need to meet all 40 of them; just the necessary ones. Besides Nyad herself and Bonnie, the third most important character in the film is Rhys Ifans’ navigator John Bartlett, who tracks the course of the swim on the boat that Diana keeps by her side at all times. She needs them to feed her, give her the necessary liquids to survive, and even protect her against the always-unwelcome dangerous sharks. But most importantly, Ifans’ character says when she’s good to go and when she isn’t, based on the winds and upcoming storms. It will not work unless she plays extreme attention to what he says.
Ifans is also one of the highlights of the film, with his no-bullshit take at the beginning that quickly melts into a lovable relationship with Diana. It’s a love-hate-but ultimately love kind of story, where they get angry at each other because either he tells her “No” when she doesn’t want to hear it, or she doesn’t listen when it’s most definitely a “No go”. But love prevails, and Ifans plays that dynamic beautifully, particularly as we get into the final stretch of the film. This is not his movie, and he very much understands that; he’s a team player, much like his character, and doesn’t stand out unless required to do so.
The performances absolutely made the movie, but in the end, they only elevate everything that is already there. Cox’s script is beautiful, but it’s Vasarhelyi and Chin’s direction that made a film about swimming, also known as one of the most boring sports to watch, actually interesting. It’s as much about her physical strength as it is about fighting the unforeseen dangers of the Caribbean Sea (don’t worry about her mental strength, though; she’s got that covered). But even then, they managed to actually make it emotional when Nyad can barely swim another stroke. The bottom line is: We should all have a friend like Bonnie by our side.
NYAD starts streaming on Netflix on November 3.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
