If you don’t follow sports, you’ve probably never heard of Diana Nyad, an American athlete who had a long and successful water marathon career. If her story wasn’t already dense and full of victories, at 61 she achieved an even greater one, being the first person to cross 177 kilometers of free swimming in the open sea, swimming from Cuba to Florida. This is the basis of the story of the film Nyad, on Netflix, which brings together two great actresses – Jodie Foster and Annette Bening – in incredible performances.

There’s a lot to take away from Diana Nyad’s obsession with running the route and here’s the key to the drama. She had a successful career and was retired but decided to defy the world that placed her in the “elderly” box as if her age disabled her from everything, even her passion for swimming. She had been standing still for no less than 30 years when she made the decision to fulfill a personal childhood dream that she had tried but abandoned before she stopped swimming: to be the first person to cross “Mount Everest” of swimming, in other words In other words, swimming in the open sea between Cuba and the United States. And what’s more: complete the journey without a shark cage.

The proposal was considered impossible for any young person, but for a 60-year-old woman, it became an irresponsible challenge. And yet, nothing stopped Diana (Annette Bening). On an arduous four-year journey of intense training, supported by her best friend and coach, Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster), and a team of doctors, sailors, and swimmers, she fought the tide of pessimism and prejudice, in an inspiring metaphor.

Julia Cox‘s script uses Diana’s biography, Find a Way, as its information base, and here’s some originality in the film. In general, biopics romanticize their characters, show their true motivations, and transform them into heroes. Nyad uses the less obvious path to win us over: Diana is not friendly at any time, on the contrary, she is irritating, narcissistic, and even suicidal when she refuses to accept the difficulties of swimming in a sea with sharks, jellyfish, and currents that take them out of their trajectory. Tenacity does not come with innate empathy, it is complex for us, who know the result, to root for it. Even crucial information, such as how her male coach sexually abused her when she was just 14 years old, is shared unexpectedly, without it taking the center of the plot but definitely sharing how trauma became one of the drivers and limits of a suffering woman, who always refused to lose.

Annette Bening is a great actress who has yet to receive Academy recognition – she has been nominated four times, with no wins – and no one could doubt that if she would not only transform herself into Diana Nyad, she would make her “her own”. Without makeup, without glamour, Annette has the difficult task of connecting us with a stubborn and unsympathetic person like the film presents the swimmer, and she succeeds with flying colors. Rhys Ifans in his brief appearance as the navigator John Bartlett, who was crucial to Diana’s challenge and victory, also shines, but the film is almost Jodie Foster‘s, even if in theory in the supporting role as Bonnie Stoll. Bonnie, Diana’s ex-girlfriend and best friend, is her counterpart in everything, in emotion, affection, sympathy and dedication. Without her, there is no film as there would be no victory. Jodie navigates all the emotions with such sincerity that we fall in love with her and are left wanting Bonnie as a best friend and coach. Without a doubt, in the wave of biopic Oscars, both deserve nominations and even consideration to win.

Nyad is an example of how a biographical film can be sincere and engaging due to the theme it wants to highlight. Diana Nyad‘s victory at 60 is very different if she had achieved her goal at 30, as she tried. She herself emphasizes that maturity is precisely the difference and manages to prove that even with an older body, any prejudice is the worst obstacle. It’s worth the dive and all the effort to watch and also to see when two great actresses are on the scene, how everything seems like a calm sea. Great choice to close the year.

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