Believe it or not, I sometimes watch movies that aren’t screwball comedies, studio flops, or B-movies that I riff, or pick apart. NYAD is one of those films. I knew going in that if it was going to be bad it wouldn’t be the type of bad movie I could goof on. If it was going to be a good movie, then there’d be a good chance I or my wife will be left an emotional wreck by the end.
So, when I saw that movie titans like Jodie Foster and Annette Bening were starring in a biopic about marathon swimmer Diana Nyad, I knew I was in for some serious glub glub. I don’t pay attention to, or care very much about Academy Award nominations for films or actors; I only care if I like or don’t like it.
I only remembered minute details about the early 2000s saga of Diana Nyad; I knew she attempted to swim from Cuba to Key West, but didn’t remember if she actually made it. Well, she did actually make it, but I had no idea that it was after four failed attempts. FOUR. And that Nyad was in her mid-sixties when she tried it.
At its core, NYAD is a movie about perseverance, dedication, and letting nothing stand in the way of what a person believes in their heart to be their true calling. As facts about the record-breaking swim emerge, we learn that in order for Nyad to pull this off, it would mean over sixty hours of swimming. To paraphrase a comedian whose name I don’t remember: I wouldn’t even want to do something that feels good for sixty straight hours. Swimming is a sport, but it’s one of the few sports that if you’re bad at it, you might die. As it is, I could probably splash around in a hotel swimming pool for about ten minutes before I’m ready to get out and dry off. Nyad is planning on being in the Caribbean Sea for two and a half days. And she wants to do it with only the minimum of safety and security measures (no shark cage; jellyfish repellent swimwear),
Though I can’t confess to being that fond of swimming, I do have hobbies and activities that I’m passionate about. For instance, I have been DJing for more than thirty-five years and my love for it hasn’t diminished in the slightest. But if someone said, “Hey you want to break the world record for nonstop DJing? I’d be like, “I could give you five, maybe six quality hours. Anything after that wouldn’t be any kind of DJing I’d want my name attached to.” So, I can’t really relate to what makes a person want to subject their body and mind to such a rigorous routine. That didn’t stop me for rooting for Diana, and even after numerous setbacks that left her looking and feeling like an old catcher’s mitt, she didn’t give up.
From a movie perspective, Bening and Foster are at the absolute top of their game. There’s acting all over the place in this thing. And it’s damn good. A good actor can make you forget that you’re watching someone play a character. And Annette Bening doesn’t just play Diana Nyad, she becomes her. Also, near as I can tell, she’s doing all of her own swimming. Ain’t no CGI; ain’t no soundstage. That’s really sixty-five year-old Bening in that water. “It’s not that I don’t know I’m this way,” Nyad says. And it was like she spoke directly to my soul.
Foster plays Nyad’s coach and best friend Bonnie, who is reluctant at first, but after she sees how determined Diana is, Bonnie recruits a team of seafaring professionals (who are working for free, BTW) and they hit the water. And the ater hits back. Again, and again. But, she doesn’t give up. Even after dying for a few seconds, she’s like, “let’s go again!” By the time Nyad finally staggers onto U.S. soil, I had to convince my wife that the lump in my throat was due to COVID.
The directing and cinematography, as well as the soundtrack, is top notch as well. See it. See it on a 4K TV with surround sound, if you can. If you can’t, drop by and I’ll gladly dial this one up again. Five out of five stars.