Nyad is a 2023 movie directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, starring Jodie Foster and Annette Bening. It is based on the book by Diana Nyad.
Two great actresses return to the stage to portray, precisely, the comeback of a swimmer, Diana Nyad, who became famous some years ago for attempting something extraordinary: swimming from Cuba to Florida, 180 kilometers in open sea.
The problem: she didn’t succeed at thirty years old and now, at sixty, she gets to work with her friend.
The main attraction of the movie is to see Jodie Foster and Annette Bening on screen again in a film that, without them, wouldn’t have generated much interest.
A movie about personal growth and learning how, even at sixty, incredible feats are still possible.
About “Nyad”
Neither Jodie Foster nor Annette Bening are regular leads anymore. Like in this movie, both actresses decided to partially retire and appear, occasionally and to the delight of their fans, in few appearances.
They both return now in this film about picking up life and challenges in their sixties. A made-for-TV story of personal triumph based on Diana Nyad’s own book.
A movie that, if you know these two small details, you can imagine how it ends and how it unfolds. Well, hoping it’s not the case, hoping for a surprise that doesn’t happen, we expected more surprises at any level (narrative or emotional) in a film that limits itself to give us what we expect: the development of a personal growth narrative in (yet another) movie of personal growth that comes (yes) to give us hope.
Yes, the movie brings hope on a human level, but not on a cinematic one, which is too restricted to the human experience and to tell us a story that, no matter how grand it is, becomes predictable through its own film treatment.
As for the performances: nothing surprising. Both are great because, it seems, acting is not something that is forgotten and some even get better with age. Both Jodie Foster and Annette Bening are fantastic in a film that, unfortunately, is not as fantastic.
Our opinion
An occasion like any other to see (once again) an easy personal growth narrative in a movie that we have seen a thousand times.
The Cast
Jodie Foster is an American actress, director, and producer. She began acting as a child and has since become a three-time Academy Award winner. Her career spans four decades, and she is widely known for her award-winning performances in films such as Taxi Driver (1976), The Accused (1988), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Panic Room (2002) and Money Monster (2016). She is also well-known for her directing works which include Little Man Tate (1991), Home for the Holidays (1995) and The Beaver (2011). Foster has dedicated much of her life to advocating for civil rights, marching with Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Her philanthropic efforts have included working with AIDS and LGBTQ causes, homelessness, poverty, women’s rights advocacy, animal welfare causes and many more.
Annette Bening is an Academy Award-nominated American actress. She has appeared in numerous hit films such as The Grifters, American Beauty, and The Kids Are All Right. She has won several awards for her performances throughout her career, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 2000. Annette is also a four-time Oscar nominee and was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011. With an impressive filmography spanning almost four decades, Annette Bening continues to draw critical acclaim for her standout performances on both the big and small screens.
