A tale of human perseverance and teamwork can be predictable and formidable though affected especially in staying through the closing credits.
Based on actual events NYAD from Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo) cover a dating physical challenge, multiple attempts for the eponymous marathon swimmer to traverse the 110 mile crossing from Havana to Key West.
Two full days with sharks and poisonous jellyfish had previously gotten the better of the very accomplished Diana Nyad (Annette Bening) when she was 28. Now a sexagenarian, the retired prof flic athlete decides to undertake it again with the hesitant (at first) hep of close friend and trainer Bonnie Still (Jodie Foster). With a prominent career in sports journalism in the interim.
The inherent adventure features figure in a dramatization with some documentary realism (with inserts real-life footage) as the dangers, disappointments and euphoria is finally realized (as the enthusiasm of supporters is palpable as part of the felt-good qualities exact on the whole)
The Greek water nymph is the moniker of such a Dogge, impassion ate, if somewhat impossible individual that Bening invest with verve and commitment. As the long-suffering
Bonnie, Foster matches her haughty confidante with comforting modesty into what can be an intense partnership (after being a Scrabble opponent).
Julia Cox’s script details the struggles to maneuver this watery ‘Mount Everest’ with the need of a shark expert (Luke Cosgrove) and Rhys Ifans old salt of a navigating captain who knows the currents and weather.
The encounters with death may appear a bit reckless, but there’s an empathy to the loyalty, determination and focus at hand as tedious as it unfolds for a while. Especially in extended swimming interludes and cumbersome flashbacks (as the inspiration and abuse of a coach played by Eric T. Miller related).
Nyad might not be that be that compelling as a sports drama but the central relationship provides a grounded, lived-in-feel that serves it well that allows pros like Bening and Foster to make the most of their roles. Even around tautly staged scenes in rough seas dodging its predators without cages.