Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Nyad review says the riveting performances by Annette Bening and Jody Foster do justice the the harrowing story of superlative athlete Diana Nyad. 

Those who achieve supreme mastery of any field, from fine arts to mathematics to tech, seem to have something in common: a supreme and total focus that often renders them oblivious to social and emotional conventions. Many share the belief that because of their genius, social norms don’t apply to them.

And maybe they don’t. Would the soaring achievements of people with unconventional personal lives like Picasso, Leonard Bernstein, Einstein and Elon Musk even be possible if these people tried to limit their lives to the standard boxes society contrives? Many superlative athletes fit into this category as well, as is evidenced by the compelling film, Nyad.

Annette Bening gives a career defining performance as remarkable record setting distance swimmer Diana Nyad, who, in her 60’s, became the first person to complete the grueling four day, 110 mile swim from Cuba to Florida, without the aid of a shark cage. She is one of only a handful of humans who has completed the swim, period.

Nyad had been a record setting distance swimmer in her 20’s and 30’s, then retired from swimming to become an author, journalist and motivational speaker. In her early 60’s, she decided that her life was too enough, and she set out to break the Cuba to Florida record that had previously eluded her.

She convinces the her best friend and coach Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster) to accompany her and put together a surprisingly large team that will help her complete her goal. They all go through years of grueling years of effort and sacrifice that involve five attempts. They are all documented in great, excruciating detail. You feel as if you’re in the water with her, fighting off jellyfish, sharks, cramps, hypothermia, exhaustion and more.

This is a heart-rending diversion from your typical athlete biopic, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the team behind the award winning documentary Free Solo. They seem eminently qualified to tell the story of Nyad, who was hardly your typical athlete.

Bening and Foster do not give your typical performances. They are sublime in determined, imperfect humanity.

If ever there was a film that inspires you not to go quietly into the good night, this is it. No matter what age you are, you may find yourself committing to going stronger, faster and farther. “If she can do it in her 60’s, just imagine what I can do now.”

Rated PG-13

2 Hours 1 Minute

If this Nyad review makes you want to grab your goggles and jump into a good movie, hunker down and catch it on Netflix.

Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Nyad review says the riveting performances by Annette Bening and Jody Foster do justice the the harrowing story of superlative athlete Diana Nyad.