At first glance, the plot seems similar to last year’s NYAD centered on Diana Nyad, a female marathon swimmer who at the age of 64 finally realized her dream to swim from Cuba to Florida in 2013. Well, 87 before Nyad made history, Gertrude ‘Trudy’ Ederle paved the way for all female athletes when she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel in August 1926. Trudy’s story is even more captivating as before she overcomes the sea currents, she has to fight against the societal constraints placed on her gender and perceived abilities.

It seems Trudy has always been destined to beat the odds. The opening scenes show her suffering from measles when she was a young girl. Even the doctor and her German immigrant family thought she wouldn’t make it, but somehow she prevailed. Upon hearing news about a burning ferry with so many casualties because most of the people on board couldn’t swim, Trudy’s formidable mother Gertrude (Jeanette Hain) wants her kids to learn how to swim, but her traditional butcher dad Henry (Kim Bodnia) isn’t keen on the idea of women swimming.

It’s no surprise that Trudy is so headstrong, as Gertrude shows that women ought to have the same rights as men. She finds a women-only swimming club run by Charlotte Epstein (Sian Clifford) to train both Trudy (Daisy Ridley) and her older sister Meg (Tilda Cobham-Hervey). Soon it’s evident that Trudy is a gifted swimmer, so much so that she could even compete in the Paris Olympics. The script by Jeff Nathanson, based on Glenn Stout’s book of the same name, is brought to life by Joachim Rønning who’s directed a few movies for Disney (Pirates of the Caribbean 5, Maleficent 2).

The director from Norway really nailed the pacing of the story and made us truly feel the emotions and challenges of this groundbreaking athlete. The movie is engaging from start to finish, with some suspenseful moments such as when Trudy had to swim through jellyfish-infested waters. She inspired so many people all over the world, that both men and women cheered she came ashore at Kent, England after swimming 14 hours and 34 minutes from Cape Gris-Nez, France. She beat the men’s record by two hours!

This is perhaps Ridley’s most memorable leading performance since she played Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. She’s got that defiant spirit and inner strength that plays well here, as well as vulnerability and warmth in depicting Trudy’s relationship with her sister.

I’m impressed with Australian actress Cobham-Hervey’s performance as Meg, whom I’ve only seen in I Am Woman about singer Helen Reddy. I love how the movie showcased the extraordinary women in her family who are instrumental in Trudy’s journey as an athlete and a woman. I love the scene where Gertrude waltzed into a news station to instantly get news about her daughter’s status.

Stephen Graham always makes an impression in everything he’s in, and he’s fun to watch here as Bill Burgess who successfully swam the English Channel in 1911. Burgess became Trudy’s coach in her second attempt after being disqualified the first time around. On the other hand, Christopher Eccleston is irritatingly hammy with a thick Scottish accent as Trudy’s first coach Jabez Wolffe. Perhaps that’s intentional as he’s an unsympathetic and vile character who doesn’t want Trudy to succeed for misogynistic and selfish reasons.

This movie excels on a technical level, with stunning cinematography by Oscar Faura and a rousing score by Amelia Warner. The storytelling style isn’t groundbreaking but it’s an elegantly-made sports drama. This was initially a Paramount Pictures production with producer Jerry Bruckheimer before it was acquired by Walt Disney Pictures. In many ways, it follows the Disney crowd-pleasing, family-friendly formula, which fits this based-on-a-true story that’d surely inspire everyone of all ages and genders, athletes and non-athletes alike.

I highly recommend this when it hits streaming on Disney+ on Friday, July 19.

Have you seen Young Woman and The Sea? I’d love to hear what you think!
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