Nyad (2023)

	Directed by: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi Jimmy Chin	COUNTRY USA GENRE Drama/Biographical NORWEGIAN TITLE Nyad RUNNING TIME 120 minutes
	Produced by: Andrew Lazar Teddy Schwarzman
	Written by (based on a book by Diana Nyad): Julia Cox

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Diana Nyad	Annette Bening
Bonnie Stoll	Jodie Foster	½
John Bartlett	Rhys Ifans
Dee Brady	Karly Rothenberg
Jack Nelson	Eric T. Miller	-

Review

Quite a few biopics end up getting too hung up with the subject’s private life and extra-curricular activities, thus underembellishing what made the person famous and remarkable in the first place. Nyad, if anything, is the opposite. As directed by hitherto documentary filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo), this adaptation has become a fine visualization of the physicality of Diana Nyad's exploits, the splendour of nature, and the interface between the two. Following Nyad on her quest to swim across the Straits of Florida, from Cuba to Florida, is a tangible cinematic adventure, elevated by Annette Bening’s dogged, unpolished lead performance. What’s not equally impressive is that the filmmakers haven’t had the nerve or interest to go deeper into Nyad’s conflicted character – to investigate the controversies surrounding her feats. Disappointingly, the film also tends to resort to messaging by overemphasizes the women’s lib parts of the story (long-distance swimming has long been recognized as a sport where women frequently beat men under equal conditions).