Nyad Review (Netflix) remarkable true story, but the pacing is quite slow.

Nyad The incredible true story of former swimmer Diana Nyad, who, at the age of 60, rose to pursue a dream swimming across the open sea for a distance of 110 miles from Cuba to Florida. With the assistance of her close friend and coach, Bonnie Stoll, Starring by Annette Bening and Jodie Foster.

Nyad Review Netflix

The story of Nyad is indeed fascinating, but what makes it even more compelling is the presence of two highly talented actors, especially Jodie Foster, who hasn’t been in the film industry much lately. This film was produced by Black Bear Pictures and initially premiered at a limited film festival before Netflix acquired it for streaming.

The movie opens with a glimpse into the peak of Diana Nyad’s career as a renowned marathon swimmer who is on the brink of her ultimate challenge: swimming from Cuba to Florida, a feat that no one has ever accomplished before. However, she concedes defeat at the age of 28, before the story transitions to her at the age of 60, feeling a renewed desire to fulfill her dream. With the help of her life partner and close friend, Bonnie Stoll, who steps into the role of her coach despite having no prior coaching experience in swimming, they embark on this journey. The narrative also introduces additional characters, such as the navigation team that calculates the swim without any obstacles, the shark defense team that employs unconventional shark protection methods, and scientists specializing in jellyfish. All of these characters join Nyad on her remarkable journey.

The movie spends about 40 minutes depicting the team’s preparations and challenges before Diana Nyad embarks on her first swim. This first attempt doesn’t succeed, and the film follows her journey over the course of four years and five attempts. During this time, the film explores the development of problem-solving and the personal growth of the characters. Short, dramatic scenes illustrate the swimming setbacks, emphasizing Nyad’s initial reluctance to listen to the team’s advice. As the narrative progresses, Nyad and her team make life adjustments, culminating in her final, serious swim. New challenges arise, even though many previous issues have been resolved. Throughout, the film underscores the central theme that it’s the friendship of her one true confidant that ultimately helps her overcome all obstacles.

The movie’s quality in terms of acting and the compelling real-life story make it worth following, but the problem lies in the length of the film, which runs for about 2 hours. Some scenes are overly extended, particularly the initial team formation segment, which can be quite tedious for the first 40 minutes. Diana’s swimming scenes during her first four attempts are more like supplementary scenes that don’t contribute significantly to the emotional atmosphere. It takes nearly an hour before the film becomes engaging during her final swim, making the story feel somewhat slow-paced and focused on life issues rather than swimming. Viewers who were anticipating thrilling long-distance swimming scenes might be disappointed.

 

Overall, the movie features great lead actors and quality performances, crafted from a truly remarkable real-life story. However, it falls short in terms of a slow and time-consuming narrative, focusing heavily on various life dramas. As a result, the long-distance swimming scenes are only truly engaging towards the end, leaving viewers somewhat disappointed if they were hoping for thrilling swimming sequences throughout. Nevertheless, if viewers are interested in a compelling true story, it’s still worth watching.

 

---

including other English reviews