Her name is Diana Nyad and if you don’t know her exploits, Unsinkable, starring Annette Bening and Jodie Foster as a swimming coach will detail their achievements.
Diana Nyad, now 74, has specialized in long-distance swimming since her youth. She set several world records, including swimming around the island of Manhattan and from the Bahamas to Florida. Filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, winners of an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, begin their film Unsinkable with a brief recollection of the key elements of Nyad’s career, supported by archival images and recordings.
When Annette Bening replaces the newsreel, the transition is smooth, even if the similarity is not so obvious. From the athlete, the 65-year-old actress adopted the choppy, harsh manner of speaking and the rigid posture of an endurance swimmer. Diana Nyad, like all top athletes, is determined and disciplined and makes no compromises.
When, at the age of 60, she decided to realize her old dream of swimming across the waters that separate Havana (Cuba) from Key West (Florida) without a protective cage against sharks, she gathered her best friend Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster (intelligent , enthusiastic and much less reserved than in her other roles), who will be her trainer. John Bartlett (Rhys Ifans) will be there as navigator.
The dangers that await Nyad are numerous: sharks, jellyfish and fatigue that causes hallucinations. Because swimming 180 km means swimming for more than 53 hours non-stop and without rest. If she succeeded on her fifth attempt in September 2013, it is less the success than the previous attempts that is interesting. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin ensure that the viewer understands the achievement that such a crossroads represents.
Unsinkable is classically designed and differs from usual biographical films in several ways. First of all, on the topic: It is unusual to see a female athlete portrayed the way female athletes are, i.e. harsh and plagued by a sense of superiority that makes her uncomfortable. Then “Unsinkable” is refreshing because we see sexagenarians in swimsuits and no makeup (and my God, that feels good). When we see this feature film, we realize to what extent the portraits of inspiring women of mature age – especially lesbians – are almost non-existent). And finally, the two Oscar-winning actresses bring all their talent to this “biopic”; Without them, “Unsinkable” wouldn’t have been as good.
Unsinkable hits theaters on October 20th before hitting the Netflix platform on November 3rd.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5