Young Woman and the Sea (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – The story of competitive swimmer Trudy Ederle, who, in 1926, was the first woman to ever swim across the English Channel.

My Take – Believe it or not, but there was a time when Walt Disney Pictures was more than a studio that produced animated features, or live action reboots of their animated films, and had a pretty solid track record of also making sports films that were inspiring, moving and entertaining.

With films like Remember the Titans (2000), Miracle (2004), Million Dollar Arm (2014) and McFarland, USA (2015), being among the few standouts that easily come to mind. True stories designed for the whole family to enjoy.

Now, thanks to the efforts of producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the mega-studio has brought to screen the truly inspiring saga of Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle, an American competitive swimmer who became the first woman to swim across the English Channel despite all odds.

Yes, it don’t stray too far from the traditional genre format, but despite the narrative being filled with Disney tropes and emotions, it still makes for an emotional, crowd-pleasing ride that is backed by a solid atmosphere, gorgeous camerawork and strong performances that helped in keeping the tides high.

Based on the 2009 non-fiction book “Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World” by Glenn Stout, here, director Joachim Rønning (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) and writer Jeff Nathanson (Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal), ensure that it is impossible to not root for Trudy, and purpose the whole experience to tug at the heartstrings and invoke strong emotional reactions with some intense swimming sequences.

Anchored by Daisy Ridley’s commanding lead performance, the film works perfectly as an empowering, compelling, and noble tribute to female athletes, laying the foundation for future U.S. Olympic Gold Medalists.

The story initially follows a young Trudy (Olive Abercrombie), who despite contrasting and then surviving measles, is determined to learn swimming. While German butcher father Henry Ederle (Kim Bodnia), forbids her from swimming mainly because, at the time, swimming was just for boys, and also because Trudy’s illness had affected her hearing, leaving her susceptible to infections.

Yet, she stays persistent and ends up going out into the Atlantic Ocean off the shores of New York City under supervision, finding support for herself and her sister Meg (Lily Aspel) from her mother, Gertrude Derle (Jeanette Hain) who pushes to pursue their talents.

Years later, both Trudy (Daisy Ridley) and Meg (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) still have a passion for swimming with Meg being more of an advanced swimmer at the time, landing under the training of Charlotte (Sian Clifford), the swimming trainer at the Women’s Swimming Association (WSA) in America. However soon enough it is Trudy who is breaking records at every swim meet.

She eventually goes to the Olympics backed by some corporate sponsorship from reluctant sports agent James Sullivan (Glenn Fleshler), who is an opportunist once he notices Trudy’s swimming is starting to gain traction in the press.

Sadly, by not winning the gold, Trudy and her teammates lose both funding and sponsorship, forcing her to return to normal life and join her father’s butcher shop, as he sets her up for an arranged marriage. But with an urge to swim more, inspired by Bill Burgess (Stephen Graham), who successfully swam the English Channel, Trudy ends up taking up the challenge and decides to embark on the impossible.

Indeed, watching Trudy overcome challenges with a mix of natural talent, dedicated hard work and will to succeed, despite various setbacks, keeps us invested.

It helps that on top of crowd pleasing moments of athletic success, the film also makes her a likable, bold character to root for. Sure, her portrayal feels resolutely old-fashioned, in both tone and in pace, after all she was an uncomplicated figure by most standards, a plucky underdog who took on the world without much in the way of a messy personal life.

Hence, in order to keep things interesting, director Joachim Rønning finds nuance and complexity in the forces arrayed against her, framing it as a broadly inspiring parable of female striving and triumph.

As one might expect, being a Jerry Bruckheimer production, known famously for backing the Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun, Bad Boys, Pirates of the Caribbean, and National Treasure franchises, the film looks magnificent, with Oscar Faura‘s excellent cinematography both above and below the waves, brilliant production design from Nora Takacs Ekberg, and a sweeping score by Amelia Warner.

Understandably, the 129 minute run time that sometimes gets swept astray by currents of family drama might make the proceedings feel heavy, but it is Trudy’s plucky determination and can-do energy carries the whole thing along.

Performances wise, Daisy Ridley proves to be an excellent lead and deserves a lot of credit for making Trudy a character to cheer for. For the film to work, we needed to be fully emotionally invested in Trudy’s struggles and triumphs, and Ridley has no trouble getting those emotions across. It’s the type of energetic, charming and fearless turn that powers sports films like this.

She is also backed by an excellent supporting cast that includes the likes of Stephen Graham, Kim Bodnia, Jeanette Hain, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Sian Clifford, Glenn Fleshler, Alexander Karim and Christopher Eccleston. On the whole, ‘Young Woman and the Sea’ is an emotional and inspirational true story that is both poignantly and grippingly told.