2023, USA, 121 min.
In 1978, Diana Nyad fails to swim from Cuba to Florida, a 110-mile ordeal in shark-infested waters. Years pass. Celebrity has dimmed. The former long-distance swimmer finds herself lost. “You turn 60 and the world treats you like a bag of bones,” Nyad (Annette Bening) tells her best friend Bonnie (Jodie Foster). So Nyad heads to the pool after a 30-year break. Soon, she is convinced she can swim to Cuba. As she spends years battling nature’s viciousness and pushing her threshold for pain, we learn that this is not an ego trip. It’s about resolving a painful past and living life on her terms. Bening’s spirited, vulnerable portrayal makes this story relatable. Foster is exceptional as the friend-turned-coach, who alternately inspires and admonishes the swimmer. Nyad is a stirring reminder that there’s no age limit to pushing past your boundaries—especially if you lean on your allies.
