Daisy Ridley Makes a Splash as Real Life Swimmer Trudy Ederle
DIRECTOR: JOACHIM RØNNING/2024
Trudy Ederle has her sights set on the English Channel.
Never mind that she is only 19 and has only been swimming for 9 years. Never mind that by the 1920s, only five men have ever swum the 21 miles from Cape Griz-Nez, France to Dover, England. Never mind that more—including several women—have tried and failed since the first successful crossing in 1875. Never mind that her health and her family’s support are questionable. Trudy (Daisy Ridley) has set her sights on swimming through day, night, wind, cold, jellyfish, and prejudice to conquer the English Channel.
Young Woman and the Sea, based on the 2022 non-fiction book by Glenn Stout, is reintroducing a mostly forgotten legend to several generations as well as reviving the true-story sports movies that were reliable bread and butter for Disney in the 2000s. Though nothing matched the quality of 2000’s Remember the Titans, you could count taking the family to see your sport of choice on the big screen that decade: The Rookie for baseball, Hidalgo for equestrianism, Miracle for hockey, The Greatest Game Ever Played for golf, Glory Road for basketball, Invincible for football (again)—and those are just the Disney releases! (I’m sure you can keep going with titles from other studios: Seabiscuit, Radio, Coach Carter, Gridiron Gang, We Are Marshall, Pride, The Express…) Disney used the same plot structures for many of their fictional stories, too—remember Snow Dogs, Ice Princess, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Eight Below, The Game Plan, and High School Musical 3?
For whatever reason—probably the Avengers—this subgenre dwindled in output through the 2010s, which is why you almost certainly don’t remember Secretariat; Million Dollar Arm; McFarland, USA; or Queen of Katwe. Though the world of sports is never far from Hollywood’s mind, family-friendly ones have taken a backseat in the last decade, mostly to Oscar hopefuls like I, Tonya; Battle of the Sexes; Ford v Ferrari; and King Richard. But one perk of superheroes waning is this tried-and-true category may be on the cusp of a resurgence. In 2023, we saw dramas for adults like Creed III, Air, Nyad, and The Iron Claw, but we also saw Big George Foreman, Gran Turismo, Next Goal Wins, The Boys on the Boat, and, on streaming, LeBron James’s story in Shooting Stars. Those films varied in quality, but that’s a significant increase in output for all (or most) ages.
Here’s hoping Young Woman and the Sea inclines studios to keep up that output. Yes, it’s a little choppy: The pacing rushes then lags, the dialogue lacks subtlety, and it’s about 15 minutes too long. Some of the liberties it takes with her life are overkill in driving home the legitimate prejudice of the era (in reality, her father was supportive of her athleticism and she was not the only woman trying this swim), and some facts are lost to time (particularly, whether her first Channel attempt failed because of sabotage, safety, recklessness, or confusion). However, given that the level of Trudy Ederle’s accomplishments are inversely proportional to her notoriety today, this big screen biography is overdue.
Telling this story may have been a no-brainer, but the making of it wasn’t, which is why we’re lucky Daisy Ridley donned the cap and goggles. Young Woman and the Sea reminds us just how winning she can be and proves it’s not limited to a galaxy far, far away. (Why isn’t she in more movies?) She makes Trudy feel like a real person, not just a symbol, and she’s also convincing as a long-distance swimmer, even doing some of the open water swimming herself. The script finds humor and inspiration in what could have been a dour life story, neither talking down to kids nor leaving adults with nothing to enjoy. (Some parents of young kids may be sensitive to a few mild profanities and a bare backside played for humor.) Though some of the finer details are imperfect, the story beats are just right for a story about struggling immigrant family and for an underdog sports hero, making Young Woman and the Sea a competent addition to the legacy of family-friendly sports biopics.