NYAD
October 27 - November 1, 2023
Now playing at the Art Center Cinema, “NYAD” Friday, October 27 to Wednesday, November 1, 2023.
Tickets can be purchased online or at the box office.
Free Solo took audiences to breathtaking heights with its thrilling look at rock-climbing and the unique, risk-seeking nature of those who push the limits of courage (and common sense). Filmmakers Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi offer another engrossing examination of superhuman determination, this time as a semi-fictional re-enactment rather than a documentary. That doesn’t diminish Nyad’s power, though, because the central performances are high-caliber: Annette Bening embodies the prickly, at-odds-with-the-world personality of Diana Nyad, who swam 110 miles from Key West to Cuba, defying the elements, sharks, and poisonous jellyfish.
Nyad’s a force of nature herself but she doesn’t make the journey totally alone: sailing alongside her Bonnie Stoll, her friend and coach—and a welcome return to the big screen for Jodie Foster. Bening is terrific, not shying away from the off-putting parts of Nyad’s personality, but somehow managing to engage viewers in this admittedly obsessive quest. Foster makes a perfect complement to Nyad’s bullheadedness, displaying the warmth and rationality that Nyad seems to lack. The two make a great pairing, and it’s rare to see this type of friendship between two female leads.
The Herculean feat at the heart of the film—Bening trained for over a year to prepare—is exciting on a visceral level, but the human drama makes Nyad even more compelling. Co-stars Rhys Ifans (as the navigator of the boat guiding Nyad) and Jeena Yi (the jellyfish expert who becomes critical to Nyad’s survival) provide great support; but it’s thanks to Bening and Foster that we find ourselves deeply, surprisingly invested in a challenge that many of us might not see the point of attempting.
This film is rated PG-13 for mature themes, profanity, and brief nudity. The film's length is 121 minutes.
Film descriptions are written by friend and cinema supporter, Dave Cooper.
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