Nyad

 

Documentary directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (they of the remarkable and vertiginous Free Solo) invest most of the emotional power of Nyad in the dynamic between Olympic marathon swimmer Diana Nyad's all-consuming myopia and her best friend Bonnie Stoll's complete devotion to Nyad, if not to her dreams.

Annette Bening's Diana finds herself at 60 feeling incomplete because she was unable to finish a swim from Cuba to Key West that she attempted when she was 28. Jodie Foster's Bonnie, Diana's uncritically supportive friend, gets caught up in her friend's resolve and commits to helping her make another attempt, despite Bonnie's reservations. She signs on as coach, one suspects not just because the two women, former lovers, are close but because Diana knows Bonnie will be compliant.

Though the titular star of this engrossing story, Diana is actually not the figure who does the most growing in the tale of what appears to be a foolish exploit that eventually, because of Nyad's domineering attitude and obsession, becomes a cause celebre.

Bonnie's enthusiasm gradually becomes distress as Diana's physical and emotional fitness begin to show signs of wear. Enlisting support from a veteran Gulf Stream navigator named Bartlett (Rhys Ifan), Bonnie tries to rein in Diana's more reckless impulses while not squelching her desire. It's a delicate balancing act that Diana seems to resist.

Based on true events, the conclusion is a part of the historical record but the film's dramatic heft, which is substantial, is its handling of Diana's drive, some rooted in the sexual abuse she suffered as a girl, as it is reflected in Bonnie's responses to her friend's burning need to succeed.

Though the directors provide details of the mechanics of the feat at the center of the film, Nyad is not about sport, really. It's about love, devotion and community and how they are actualized by a singular dream.