Nyad - Movie Review

An aquatic drama that falters beneath the waves

Nyad (2023)

From co-directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Yasarhelyi comes a biopic about Diana Nyad and her famous swim from Havana Cuba to Key West Florida, though some refute that her lofty endeavour was entirely unaided. After researching Nyad a bit before watching the movie and seeing that it was made by two documentary filmmakers I find it hard to reason why they chose not to adapt this story as a documentary in order to try and rebuke those who would malign Nyad’s achievement. While the movie boasts some powerful performances and a mostly compelling story it is all undone by some sloppy special effects, abnormal pacing, and underwritten characters.

Nyad is a prototypical sports film, at least in the first half where much time is spent watching Nyad overcome sexism and ageism from those unwilling to support her dream of accomplishing the above mentioned swim which she failed to do when she was 28 which she now believes she can do in her sixties. Here the movie shines as Annette Bening’s unrelenting determination to achieve her goals and Jodie Foster, who plays her best friend Bonnie Stoll, reluctance to help Bening made for some great drama and fun comedic scenes as their friendship and belief in each other helped them to align in pursuit of their shared mission of achieving Nyad’s dream. Some flaws in the movie did start to rear their head in the first act though as some shotty CGI was displayed in the aquatic scenes which felt as though they were filmed in an oversized Hollywood bathtub while several driving sequences appeared oversaturated and littered with computer generated backgrounds.

Poor filmmaking undermined much of the film but no part more than the flashback sequences which tried to colour in Nyad’s backstory in order to explain why she felt she had to persevere no matter what based on her history of sexual abuse. While Nyad’s backstory is grueling to listen to and heart wrenching given that this is based on a true story it is not given proper justice as every single flashback sequence is covered in filtered images as if it were someone’s overproduced Instagram story rather than a peak into the life of the main character of a serious drama film. Such odd filmmaking choices persisted throughout the film such that serious moments were made to feel almost comedic including those moments where Nyad began to hallucinate while swimming. What could have been a deeply troubling event, that being when Nyad’s mental competency failed as she tested the limits of human conditioning during her swim, is made a farce as CGI lights shine around Bening’s character while Foster encourages her to go on swimming even as the audience sees Bening’s health failing. Furthermore, Bening’s character seemed to oscillate between absent mindedly swimming before bursting into fits of alarm and outrage which became cliche after a while which undermined my enjoyment of Nyad’s accomplishment in the film since so much of it felt bizarre and inhumane. Specifically, Nyad is shown to be in a confused state of mind unsure of where she is and unable to fully control her body while swimming in the ocean surrounded by predators and in harsh condition all the while her “friends” encourage her to go on in a manner which best resembles a parent trying to convince their child to eat their vegetables. It was a strange viewing experience as what was intended, I am sure by the filmmakers, to be some courageous display of determination and Nyad’s endless will seemed more to be a person incapable of dealing with their own trauma handling it by abusing themselves while those meant to care for her seemed to do nothing other than encourage her to continue doing so.

Both Bening and Foster deserve praise for their incredible work in this physically demanding and emotional wrought movie though it is a shame that the work they seem to have put into it is undermined by a film that is poorly made and horribly uneven. Rhys Ifans also deserves some praise for his performance as John bartlett, the reluctant navigator who helps to steer Nyad toward Florida from Cuba while avoiding the pitfalls her previous guides encountered all the while battling his own demons. However, in the film dramatic moments seem to come out of nowhere such as the sharp cut to Bening traversing the ocean during an intense storm following a mellow conversation between two characters, not only did the noise come off as a jump scare but the shlocky computer generated images that were meant to convey this were not convincing in the least such that it felt contrived and random. Furthermore, the characters in the film are written in a bizarre fashion, it reminded me of the way in which superhero movies are written where the writers constantly makes 4th wall breaking jokes in order to poke fun at the film’s premise as if this is meant to be a crutch to ensure that any failings of the movie are overlooked since nothing is to be taken too seriously. Nyad is a movie that is effective when the drama is done right, such as when Bening and Foster are training together or when the climax of the movie occurs, however in those moments where there is supposed to be conflict or struggle it all felt orchestrated and inconsequential since it was not convincing and felt inauthentic due to bad special effects and abrupt tonal changes.

Nyad’s biggest failing though may be with its main character. Again, Bening does an excellent job when she is given something to do, but much of the film shows her being mostly unfeeling and at times in a fugue state where she swims on and on while not being in her right mind. Additionally, while Nyad is shown to be an abuse victim and a person that has overcome adversity and discrimination she is also depicted as ruthless and uncaring in that when a swimmer tries to achieve a similar feat to her she actively roots against her and celebrates, along with Foster’s character, when the swimmer fails after her health was put into jeopardy during her swim. Perhaps this is the filmmakers way of showing Nyad in a nuanced light in that we are shown that Nyad is willing to achieve her goal at any cost, including walking over others and alienating the needs of her friends which lead to conflict, though it is done in a way which made Nyad an unsympathetic character. Furthermore, Nyad is never made to properly atone for how rude and uncaring she is to her friends in that Foster, who at one point decides to abandon Bening after she behaved in a ill-mannered way, reconciles with Nyad not because Bening is shown to accept her wrongdoing but only because Foster wants to be a part of achieving Nyad’s dream. Altogether, the movie never makes you actively root for Nyad, and while her achievement is incredible and her adversity respectable it is never something that you feel all that invested in, it just kind of goes on in front of you until it ends.

Nyad is a predictable film that has some good moments but it is nothing that you have not seen before. It is nice to see women achieving great things in cinema though I am not entirely sure why that is now regarded as unique seeing that many films have done this in the past not to mention Million Dollar Baby that won best picture at the Academy Awards and will be having its 20th anniversary this year. If you are a fan of Jodie Foster I would recommend this film as she is good here and has more moments to shine than Bening but I must warn that her character is a Dodgers fan, so be advised. Kidding aside, this is an okay ish biopic sports film, though I am sure I will barely remember it by the time this years Academy Awards roll around as there is nothing overly unique or memorable about it.

Here is the trailer for Nyad: