“I can’t see you die, Diana!” yells Jodie Foster at Annette Bening in a pivotal scene in the film NYAD that opened today in select theaters.
Two-time Academy Award winning Foster accurately portrays Bonnie Stoll who serves as Diana Nyad’s coach in film. Four-time Academy Award nominee Annette Bening plays Nyad.
The film tells the background, the childhood trauma, the grueling training in Pasadena and Mexico, the dynamic relationship between Stoll and Nyad, and the equipment used in the crossings as it intertwines the four Havana-to-Key West failed crossings of Nyad (in 1978, 2011, and 2012) before it culminates in her successful crossing in September 2013.
From an open water swimmer’s perspective, the ocean swimming cinematography – especially at night and when the waves and wind toss Nyad around – accurately captures what swimmers and crew members go through during rough water channel crossings.
The terror of shark encounters out in the open ocean, like on her fourth attempt, and the intense, indescribable pain of box jellyfish stings are spot on.
The details of the film and how the actual events and conversations that occurred in the ocean during Nyad’s crossings are remarkable.
Bening – who was 64 years old when Academy Award winning directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi shot the movie in the Dominican Republic – wore the exact same swimsuit as Nyad during her attempts and ultimate success. Her hair style, mannerisms, and bilingual abilities in French and Spanish aid to the enjoyment of watching the 2-hour film.
Throughout the film, capturing the trials of first four unsuccessful and the final successful crossing, Bening swallows water and gasps for air, while treading water in turbulent seas, just like real swimmers do. Her swimming technique, while not the same as the former International Long Distance Swimming Federation champion Nyad, is good enough. Bening was coached by 2000 Olympic swimmer Rada Owen and is shown working out long hours back and forth in a pool, and training in Puerto Morelos along the Yucatán Peninsula.
Even the use of a swim streamer alongside her escort boat was a nice touch. Weighted down perfectly by small weights and lit up in red lights at night, the swim streamer helped keep Nyad swimming parallel to her main escort boat. While the film does not show the total of five escort boats or the 40 support crew members who were on the actual crossings, directors Chin and Vasarhelyi showed the drama on the main boat that was navigated in the film by Rhys Ifans who absolutely nailed the facial expressions, concerns, navigational expertise, and tough love of mariner John Bartlett.
The scene of the shark encounter was – if anything – less dramatic than the encounter in reality on her fourth attempt. I was in the RIB (rigid inflatable boat) with Jonathan Rose (portrayed by Garland Scott) when he went after the shark with a stick covered with a tennis ball. “Always keep an eye out for me,” said Rose as he bravely dove off the RIB and disappeared into the depths to direct the shark away from Nyad. I could not believe someone would dive after a shark, but the shark protocols developed by Luke Tipple (portrayed by Luke Cosgrove) required such direct intervention. Tipple and Rose later told me why their actions were responsible: the relaxed pectoral fins of the shark showed them that the shark was not in the attack mode. To protect themselves and Nyad, they spread out their arms and legs underwater while positioning themselves in a vertical position. By making themselves appear bigger than the shark, the shark swam away and the swim continued.
But the film’s true gem is centered around the intense relationship and heartfelt conversations – and arguments – between Foster and Bening. Their interactions are wonderfully accurate and not only depict a healthy relationship between close long-time friends, but also highlight a dynamic rapport between an older veteran swimmer and a coach who deeply cares for her swimmer.
When Nyad was stung by box jellyfish on her failed attempts in 2011 and 2012, her blood-curling screams shook me to my core. The only other time I had heard any swimmer utter similar pain in a swim was when Penny Palfrey was stung by jellyfish in her attempt to swim between Oahu and Kauai across the 115 km Kaieiewaho Channel in Hawaii. Both women (Palfrey’s stings are shown on the left; Nyad’s stings are shown on the right) were terribly stung as the night when the venous creatures rise to the surface. Unseen and unexpected, the tentacles release harpoon-like stingers under the skin of the swimmer enabling the deadly venom to enter the body.
Both Palfrey – who attempted a Havana-to-Cuba crossing in June 2012 – and Nyad let out a long, repeated wailings after getting hit. “I’m on fire! My skin is on fire! Get them off me!” In Palfrey’s case, we pulled her on deck, dosed her with cold water, and then rushed her to a hospital on Kauai.
In Nyad’s case, she willingly (and frankly, unbelievably) suffered in the water as she tried to will herself to continue. It appeared that she was trying literally to exert the venom out of her skin. But the venom was just too much. She had to be rescued from her stubbornness and pulled onto the boat where the emergency room physicians worked quickly to not lose her.
“Don’t die on me, Diana!” repeatedly yelled Stoll as she knelt down next to her friend while the doctors were working quickly on Nyad.
I can remember that gripping scene on the deck of the Voyager like yesterday. It was at night; everyone on the boat is barely visible in an eerie darkness as the boat is going up and down in the waves. No one knows if Nyad is going to survive or not.
Without question after a return to shore and back home, it is natural that Stoll does not want to return. No one wants to relive that experience. Yes, Nyad recovered, but the fear carried forward. But true to Nyad’s spirit and despite Stoll and Bartlett’s reluctance, she wants to make one last attempt to swim 110 miles from Havana to somewhere – anywhere – along the Florida Keys.
The film features that ongoing tough-love relationship – portrayed by two veteran actors of similar age. Their interaction is a stark reminder of how older adult swimmers and their coach can overcome significant obstacles and differences of opinions to achieve their dreams in the open water.
Most importantly, Stoll in real life and Foster in the film are patient and present. Stoll spent thousands of hours with Nyad, sitting on a pool deck and on the deck of an escort boat over a four-year period. Being patient as the swimmer builds up the strength, stamina, and mental toughnes to accomplish a multi-day swim is critical. These marathon swims take years of preparation, especially for a swimmer in their 60’s or for anyone who is coming back to the water from decades of not training.
But being present is also critically important. Just being there is always a comfort to a swimmer in the water. When a swimmer can see their coach, on a pool deck, on the deck of a boat, in a kayak, on a paddleboard, they retain the mental confidence to continue when they get tired or hypothermic. When the eyes of your coach are always on you, this is a bond that is invaluable. Their presence pushes you; you do not want to fail because you know your coach has also made the commitment.
The ideal coach – like Stoll with Nyad – needs to know when to push the swimmer and when to lay off. Stating a kind word at the most appropriate time and saying the right thing in the perfect tone is so very powerful. The words by the coach could be made in a whisper or in a scream. Each statement means something much different and can either be motivational or detrimental to the swimmer, if verbalized with the wrong tone or choice of word.
A great coach knows and uses the power of words, looks, glances, smiles, winks, and winces. And Foster and Bening are masters of that craft.
NYAD started showing today in select theaters across America.
Netflix will stream the film starting on November 3rd. For more information, visit Netflix here. For additional background information, visit IMDb here.
Nyad made 4 attempts before her fifth attempt was successful on
© Daily News of Open Water Swimming
“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline”