At a time in America, the second decade of the 20th century, where women were not merely deemed second-class citizens but arguably also third-rate people. Trudy Ederle stood out. Despite her unfortunate encounter with the measles as a young girl in 1914, which led to partial hearing loss, she wanted to show how great a swimmer she could be. Against all odds, and against the brick wall that was male chauvinism, Trudy proved herself by being able to traverse the Hudson River from New York across to New Jersey in just a little under three hours. Then in 1926 she made a most incredible decision, one that even her German-born parents, let alone most of the public, thought was suicidal to say the very least: she wanted to swim the treacherous English Channel, from the Normandy Coast of France to Dover, England. A lot of male swimmers had tried the feat, but had failed, having battled against the nightmarish currents, the fog, sharks, and swarms of jellyfish. But on August 20, 1926, having failed once, Ederle vowed to try again. Her story has now been told in the Disney film YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA, based on the book of the same name by Glenn Stout
Daisy Ridley, who played Rey in the Star Wars franchise films THE FORCE AWAKENS, THE LAST JEDI, and THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, portrays Ederle as a determined and an exceptionally feisty young woman growing up in New York City with all odds completely stacked against her gender. But with the help of her sister (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) and a disciplinarian of a swimming coach (Sian Clifford), she perseveres through a lot of physical and psychological pain, and the disdain of her parents. Ridley also, of course, must overcome the rampant sexism that ran through competitive sports in general, and American sports in particular, at that point in American history. Even more than that, the press in America, France, and England are exceptionally doubting Thomas's as to just how far she is willing to go, even after having only won a bronze medal at the 1924 Paris Olympics. The first attempt across, in July 926, goes absolutely haywire due to apparent sabotage on the part of former Channel swimmer Bill Burgess (Stephen Graham). Ridley gets only six miles across before fatigue sets in. Her determination, however, mixed in with a lot of understandable fear, propels her to do it again.
What could have been a fairly stereotypical Hollywood "feel good" and "against all the odds" film a la ROCKY, is clearly given a lot of weight due to the brilliant, heartwarming, portrayal that Ridley gives as Trudy. She is even seen fit to throw even her parents, and the rest of a doubting New York City public, into a tizzy with her goofing-off version of the song "Ain't W e Got Fun". Since this is based on a true story that the public really didn't know that well, it is easier for YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA to sustain its suspense. Even so, however, like more than a few history-based films, like APOLLO 13, ALL THE PRESIDENT"S MEN, and THE POST, the eventual outcome is gratifying for how it progresses towards its finish. Ridley's biggest danger, after all the chauvinism, the doubters, and the rest on land, is having to swim right through a horrible swarm of jellyfish at the halfway point of her swim, which is fairly harrowing in and of itself. Even if the depiction of Ridley being almost at the end of her physical rope as the English coastline comes within sight can be seen as a bit of a cliché, it nevertheless remains true to the story through and through.
Joachim Ronning, a Norwegian known for films like 2017's PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES and 2018's MALEFICENT: MISTRESS OF EVIL, directs YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA with a great amount of panache, aided and abetted by the script from Jeff Nathanson, who worked with Steven Spielberg on CATCH ME IF YOU CAN and THE TERMINAL. Trudy's harrowing journey is also depicted with a good feel for the inherent human drama of the story. It is, however, Ridley, whose performance as Trudy is truly one of the greatest for any actress of recent times, matching Sandra Bullock's in GRAVITY and Rachel Zegler's in Spielberg's 2021 re-imagining of WEST SIDE STORY. For that reason alone (but also for many more), YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA must rank as one of the best films of 2024.
This film gets a '10' from me.
Daisy Ridley, who played Rey in the Star Wars franchise films THE FORCE AWAKENS, THE LAST JEDI, and THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, portrays Ederle as a determined and an exceptionally feisty young woman growing up in New York City with all odds completely stacked against her gender. But with the help of her sister (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) and a disciplinarian of a swimming coach (Sian Clifford), she perseveres through a lot of physical and psychological pain, and the disdain of her parents. Ridley also, of course, must overcome the rampant sexism that ran through competitive sports in general, and American sports in particular, at that point in American history. Even more than that, the press in America, France, and England are exceptionally doubting Thomas's as to just how far she is willing to go, even after having only won a bronze medal at the 1924 Paris Olympics. The first attempt across, in July 926, goes absolutely haywire due to apparent sabotage on the part of former Channel swimmer Bill Burgess (Stephen Graham). Ridley gets only six miles across before fatigue sets in. Her determination, however, mixed in with a lot of understandable fear, propels her to do it again.
What could have been a fairly stereotypical Hollywood "feel good" and "against all the odds" film a la ROCKY, is clearly given a lot of weight due to the brilliant, heartwarming, portrayal that Ridley gives as Trudy. She is even seen fit to throw even her parents, and the rest of a doubting New York City public, into a tizzy with her goofing-off version of the song "Ain't W e Got Fun". Since this is based on a true story that the public really didn't know that well, it is easier for YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA to sustain its suspense. Even so, however, like more than a few history-based films, like APOLLO 13, ALL THE PRESIDENT"S MEN, and THE POST, the eventual outcome is gratifying for how it progresses towards its finish. Ridley's biggest danger, after all the chauvinism, the doubters, and the rest on land, is having to swim right through a horrible swarm of jellyfish at the halfway point of her swim, which is fairly harrowing in and of itself. Even if the depiction of Ridley being almost at the end of her physical rope as the English coastline comes within sight can be seen as a bit of a cliché, it nevertheless remains true to the story through and through.
Joachim Ronning, a Norwegian known for films like 2017's PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES and 2018's MALEFICENT: MISTRESS OF EVIL, directs YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA with a great amount of panache, aided and abetted by the script from Jeff Nathanson, who worked with Steven Spielberg on CATCH ME IF YOU CAN and THE TERMINAL. Trudy's harrowing journey is also depicted with a good feel for the inherent human drama of the story. It is, however, Ridley, whose performance as Trudy is truly one of the greatest for any actress of recent times, matching Sandra Bullock's in GRAVITY and Rachel Zegler's in Spielberg's 2021 re-imagining of WEST SIDE STORY. For that reason alone (but also for many more), YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA must rank as one of the best films of 2024.
This film gets a '10' from me.