Young Woman and the Sea

In a logical, reasoned sense I know that Young Woman & The Sea is not a 9/10 star film. It is a Disney-fied family drama that sometimes features cringe-worthy dialogue or tropes. But if the purpose of the cinematic experience is to tug at the heartstrings and invoke strong emotional reactions, one almost cannot be helped to be sucked into the flick.

For a very basic overview, Young Woman & The Sea tells the story of Trudy Ederle (Daisy Ridley), a rare female swimmer in 1920s New York who would first represent her country in the Olympics and then attempt to be the first woman to swim the English Channel. Inspired by sister Margaret (Tilda Cobham-Hervey), mother Gertrude (Jeanette Hain), and pushed by coach Lottie Epstein (Sian Clifford), Trudy must not only show her physical aquatic prowess but also overcome the sexism of the times by handler Jabez Wolffe (Christopher Eccleston) and even father Henry (Kim Bodnia).

The biggest thing Young Woman has going for it is that it is hitting cinemas at an absolute perfect time, what with Caitlin Clark (and others) inspiring a wave of appreciation for female stories revolving around sports. That isn't to minimize the film's ability to invoke emotion, however, as director Joachim Ronning and writer Jeff Nathanson craft a solid narrative here. It is well-shot (the swimming scenes are a delight), full of forward momentum, and consistently shows the obstacles placed in young Trudy's path simply by dint of her gender and how she hurdles practically all of them.

Ridley is also perfect for the lead role, channeling her Star Wars success nicely here. For Young Woman to work, audiences need to be fully emotionally invested in Trudy's struggles and triumphs, and Ridley has no trouble getting those emotions across.

Going into the movie, I was worried it would be a schmaltzy Disney family flick-and it certain ways it very much is. This isn't a hard-hitting, in-the-weeds, serious prestige drama. While it covers all the requisite issues Trudy's story entails, it does so with a coat of varnish to make it enjoyable for all audiences.

But in the final reckoning, other than a few cringe-worthy dialogue moments, Young Woman & the Sea was so emotional and inspirational that it consistently won me over-especially the final act (and even closing credits) that reference the real-life Trudy to cement the story's grounded nature. Such investment makes it hard to dislike this film.

I left the theater thinking Young Woman and the Sea will win best picture. Either the story of Gertrude Ederle is just that good, or the director has created a masterpiece, lightning in the bottle, whatever you want to call it. Daisy Ridley brings us a brave, if not slightly insane, young woman who through circumstance, bad luck, and bad people, managed to persevere. In a way, it was like the movie Gravity, but in 1926 and out at sea; and Gertrude also had to deal with the sexism of the time. A line out of the movie, "I'm saving up for a telephone." When asked why, he answered, "I don't know. I just want one." So old-timey yet very much today. Everything this movie did, worked.

Ridley does a phenomenal job representing Trudy Ederly, a passionate young woman determined to swim, regardless of what the world (mostly men) say. Her determination and resilience is well played throughout the story, sometimes in tearjerking scenes of struggle, other times in quiet moments of stubbornness and strength. Props to the cast for a stout performance all around.

That being said, I couldn't love this movie and felt repeatedly taken out of the moment by the relentless preachy nature of the writing and the stereotypical male characters. While the key component of this story is a woman overcoming physical and cultural obstacles to perform incredible feats of athleticism, the male characters are often so exaggerated in their misogyny and incredulity that I often felt I couldn't relate to any of the males. They were either so unbelievably simple and played up for comic effect (the suitors the father brings the girls), unjustifiably rude, even given the cultural norms of the time, bombastically obstinate (the father) or they were outright malicious. This treads far beyond the facts of the true story of Trudy, making grand presumptions about how hated she was by the men of her time.

Don't get me wrong, she was dealing with sexism and cultural inequality, and the film NEEDED that to cut through to give power to the character arc of Trudy, which I understood. But the authenticity and nuance which shines through in Ridley's performance is often overshadowed by single-dimensional, poorly written male characters with little or no redeeming quality.

I loved watching her journey and I'd watch it again, but hated how the males were misrepresented and maligned consistently throughout the film.

Terrible title aside - I'm really happy to see Disney making this type of movie again! Young Woman and the Sea could have been made at basically any point in the last 50-60 years exactly as is, and that's a compliment. The kind of well-made, heartfelt "family entertainment" that studios used to release regularly but not so much anymore. While I wish it got a wide theatrical release (it deserves to), I'm still happy I got to enjoy this wonderful and inspirational film! Quite shocked by how much I was pulled in by Young Woman and the Sea. Daisy Ridley's endearing performance as Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim across the English Channel, is a constant delight. Possibly my favorite performance from her yet. But the real star is Amelia Warner's stirring score that gives this cliched but inspiring true sports story its heart and vigor. There's nothing revelatory here but as far as swimming biopics go, I at least found it to be an enjoyable watch!

Young Woman and the Sea is a traditional Hollywood biopic that is in part a sporting drama, but also a survival story and all these elements combine well to inspire.

Whilst I am frustrated that so much dramatic licence is taken during some of the key moments, the story and message is good. Importantly, if it prompts people to do their own research into facts about the people and events portrayed, that's a positive outcome. Those who take Hollywood movies at face value and believe everything they see deserve to spend their life being misled.

Some people might argue it lays the theme of female empowerment on too thick (and maybe they are right), but that's certainly not a negative for me. I am a father of a daughter who swims in a class full of competitive older boys and each one of them try their best to make sure they never finish behind her. Sometimes she beats them, most times they win and it can be disheartening for her. This is exactly the type of film she needed to see to remind her that she's not inferior and to persevere. In all facets of life.

It also inspired me... to never swim long distances in the sea again! The filmmakers do a brilliant job capturing how treacherous a challenge it is. (In my young backpacking days I almost died swimming from a coral reef in Malaysia back to an island) The experience of swimming in open water is as terrifying as the film portrays and people who have completed immense challenges like the Channel swim deserve to be immortalised on screen. The cinematography, editing and art direction is all superb.

Daisy Ridley leads it with a strong central performance and is supported well by other cast members, particularly Stephen Graham, who entertains in virtually every scene.