Young Woman and the Sea

This is one of those rare cases of a film so well written and directed that you get drawn to being emotionally invested in the outcome even though, with it being a true story, you know how it ends before the film even starts.

Whilst I didn't know about Trudy Ederle before the film came out, and I'm sure the writers have taken a few liberties with all the facts for dramatic purposes, the central theme remains faithful. That is a talented woman who had to overcome the inherent bias of women in sport to achieve her ultimate success. And this is where the film hits all the right notes building up that picture of her fight to be allowed to swim, to be allowed to attempts tje channel swim and to ultimately succeed.

The film also benefits from a great cast, with great performances. Stephen Graham and Kim Bodnia are as reliable as ever, Jeanette Hain, Sian Clifford and Tilda Cobham-Hervey put in great supporting performances as mother, trainer and sister respectively. However, this for me is Daisy Ridley's finest performance to date and marks her out as a serious dramatic actress where she can finally shake off the threat of only being remembered as Rey from the SW franchise.

It's a simple story, told in a very understated way and that is its strength. The story sells itself and the director just shines light on it. Very well done.

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!

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 managed to catch Young Woman and the Sea during its cinema run and I have to say I thought it was a great film. Daisy Ridley was excellent as Trudy Ederle and really proved herself as a first rate actress in this film. The film itself felt like a rarity in today's landscape of overly CGI-d superheroes and sci-fis. This was a good old fashioned story, well told with great actors, nice cinematography and a strong script. That being said, I have to say that the British equivalent, an indie titled, Vindication Swim, was the better of the two Channel swimming films released this year. That one takes place a year after Trudy's swim and is based on the first British woman to swim the Channel, Mercedes Gleitze. I felt the swimming sequences were far more varied and visually spectacular in what I assume was a much lower budget film than this outing by Disney. Likewise I feel that story had more to it in terms of the struggle faced by its protagonist (interestingly both women are of German heritage and a good deal of the story is about them proving themselves to being American and British respectively). That being said Young Woman the and Sea is by no means a bad film. Far from it, it is actually excellent, especially in the rousing climactic sequence. I really do hope Disney continues to make films like this one.

Went into this feeling a bit lukewarm to be honest. Expecting a schmaltzy Disney production looking to over eagerly tug at viewers heart strings. Well, heart strings were indeed plucked, like an old second hand guitar. But it was done earnestly and at no point do you feel you are being emotionally played with.

"based on a true story", it announces from the first screen, so those objecting to how far it was from the truth, get back in your box. After googling Gertrude Ederle, this viewer did not feel in an way duped by the dramatization presented of her story.

Not much to say regarding the script, production, acting etc, other than I for one found nothing to criticize, it was just so good in all respects. Slightly preachy in regards to misogyny, women's rights?, of course it is, it was the 1920s, yet a century later there are some in the USA that would have the clocks rolled back in that regard. Which is why it is a shame that this movie is not getting a wider release.

Watch it with family for a great shared occasion, or alone if you need inspiration, or with a bunch of mates...don't worry, if you feel a tear coming on, pretend you have something in your eye.