Movie Review ~ Young Woman and the Sea

I can still see the clamshell case of films like The Journey of Natty Gann (1985) and Never Cry Wolf (1983) in front of me in the video store, begging to be checked out.  These were two mid-’80s live-action releases from Walt Disney Studios directed at families with children who may have moved on from the animated branch of the studio and were ready to try more mature fare.  Memorable titles like White Fang (1991), Iron Will (1994), and one of my personal favorites, 1991’s Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken, fill out a roster made by Disney in the ’80s and ’90s that excelled in providing adventure, genuine emotion, and a timeless charm.

A golden-age studio picture released in our modern era, Joachim Rønning’s Young Woman and the Sea is a beautifully made biopic of swimmer Trudy Ederle, and it’s unequivocally terrific.  It’s somewhat of a miracle unicorn: a big-hearted (happy) tearjerker authentically sentimental yet remarkably free of schmaltz.  Firmly anchored in tradition, in a summer stuffed with superhero spectacles and franchise blockbusters, it’s refreshing to see this homage to live-action family filmmaking, which has gone out of style.

Based on Glenn Stout’s 2009 non-fiction novel, Rønning’s film tells the story of Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle, an American swimming champion who first won a gold medal at the 1924 Olympic Games.  Unhappy with the way she and her Olympic teammates were treated by their coach and unwilling to resign her life to following tradition by marrying according to the wishes of her German immigrant parents, she sets a lofty goal and focuses all her energy on making that a reality.  Her achievement would forever change women’s sports and perceptions of what female athletes can accomplish.

No woman had ever swum the 21 miles across the English Channel, and Trudy was determined to be the first.  Despite protestations from everyone (well, the men) around her, she went ahead and did it anyway, despite having had measles as a child and knowing that continuing to swim could mean losing her hearing completely.  (Deafness was a lasting side effect for anyone who contracted and survived the disease in the early 1900’s).  Defying the odds stacked against her and a system designed not to support her, her landmark swim would lay the groundwork for the historic athleticism showed by competitors like Diana Nyad (who had her excellent biopic last year) and Mercedes Gleitze (who became the first British woman to swim the Channel in 1927 and has her biopic, Vindication Swim, coming out soon). 

While Daisy Ridley has had her ups and downs on screen since completing the newest trilogy of Star Wars films, she lands her most significant role yet in Young Woman and the Sea.  Like the star of NYAD, Annette Bening, Ridley spent months in the water training to become Trudy, and, like Bening, she’s completely convincing whether on sea or land.  You could describe her character as headstrong but determined seems more appropriate.  After all, this was a woman who many had thought would die as a child (Olive Abercrombie, Midnight in the Switchgrass, is terrific as the younger Trudy), but she bounced back and followed her sister Meg into the pool where she quickly became a star swimmer, surpassing her sibling. 

Ridley rides the waves of success and disappointment with ease, which details an actress who has not just learned the lines and done research but truly let herself be joined with the role with grit and gumption.  That tenacity resonates, creating a compelling character you root for the moment she walks onscreen.  The supporting cast is equally compelling, and there’s no weak link in the bunch.  Christopher Eccleston (Thor: The Dark World) leans into the sinister nature of coach Jabez Wolffe, Trudy’s Olympic coach and English Channel trainer, who is more interested in making her presentable for the camera than prepared for the water. 

Also training Trudy at one point or another is Sian Clifford’s ‘s(See How They Run) Charlotte, doing the brassy New York go-getter without resorting to an arch accent). Stephen Graham (Boiling Point) is eccentric swimmer Bill Burgess, the second man who swam the Channel that likes to swim in the buff (rated PG, there are a few quick butt shots but nothing to derail the family-friendly nature of the film) and takes a particular interest in Trudy’s capabilities.  

However, the film’s real power comes from the actors playing Trudy’s family.  Kim Bodina and Jeanette Hain are her parents, and they share a special bond with their daughter in different ways.  Bodina and Hain are marvelous actors; you cannot put a price tag on the warmth they bring to the movie.  As Meg, Trudy’s devoted older sister, Tilda Cobham-Hervey (I Am Woman) is almost as well written by screenwriter Jeff Nathanson (The Lion King) as Ridley’s character.  A woman with her own dreams and desires, she makes sure Trudy always knows where her priorities rest.  The sisterly bond between Ridley and Cobham-Hervey and Ridley with her onscreen parents contributes to the real relationship building the film portrays so well.

Rønning, known for his work on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, brings his usual visual flair to Young Woman and the Sea.  Working with cinematographer (Oscar Faura, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), the breathtaking underwater footage and meticulously recreated period settings transport viewers to the early turn of the century NYC and Paris.  It shouldn’t surprise me that the scale of the grandiose set pieces, costumes, and a whopper of a finale are staged on such an epic level; after all, the film does count Jerry Bruckheimer (Top Gun: Maverick) as one of its leading producers.  Even with such a luxurious production, Rønning never lets these elements overshadow the intimate (and pivotal) character beats.

Amelia Warner’s (Mr. Malcolm’s List) score is so magnificent that it deserves its own paragraph. Seamlessly intertwining with the breathless visuals of Trudy pushing through an agonizing swim (a sequence with jellyfish is harrowing), Warner’s orchestrations are evocative and add an extra layer of depth to the narrative. It’s hard to imagine the film without the score, and if it doesn’t receive an Oscar nomination, I’ll swim the English Channel myself in protest.

Initially, Young Woman and the Sea was meant to go straight to Disney+, but it tested so well that when Disney saw an opening on the schedule, they decided to give it a wider release.  That’s great news for audiences.  So far, May has been a soul-free spectacle (see Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga as an example), but as we navigate through a sea of vapid throwaways, moving into June, I know we have smaller pictures like this on the way.  These gems are surefire rationales to spend the money to take the entire family to the theater and begin remembering what the “experience” in ‘movie-going experience’ really means.  Films like Young Woman and the Sea can rouse, can motivate, can inspire, can dare you to dream bigger – that’s something (finally) worth going to the movies to see.