A Daisy Ridley swim meet you should attend.
“Young Woman and the Sea” is based on the true story of how American swimmer Gertrude Ederle (1905-2003) became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. She would be known by press as “Queen of the Waves.” And like last Fall’s “Nyad,” which starred Annette Bening as Diana Nyad, this one also shows us one woman’s determination to swim across an open sea. You need vaseline for your skin, good swimming skills, and you can’t be touched by anyone on the beach or the boats. But of course, you all knew that.
Daisy Ridley stars as Gertrude, or Trudy as she likes to be called, who was raised by her German immigrant parents (Kim Bodnia and Jeanette Hain), who owned the butcher shop on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. She was one of five children, while this movie makes her one of three. She has a sister named Meg (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) and a brother named Henry (Ethan Rouse).
In the 1920s when this true story takes place, there’s sexism regarding how some men think women have no purpose to swim. That they have less power than men do in the water. Even Trudy’s father has to believe in this crap, but at least he comes around, eventually. And at this point, she has a few trainers including Jabez Wolffe (Christopher Eccelston), who tried and failed to swim the English Channel and gets her disqualified when he orders another swimmer to recover her from the water; and Bill Burgess (Stephen Graham), who is the second person to complete the swim and guides her from the boat.
There are also pathos regarding Meg swimming with Trudy and competing very well (winning them both free Nathan’s hotdogs), but she can’t swim with her in the race and she has to marry another butcher. But that doesn’t mean they can completely lose their spirits.
I guess you could say: “Once Upon a Time in America,” “there was a woman who wouldn’t let anyone tell her what she couldn’t do, and was determined to swim to her hearts content.”
“Young Woman and the Sea” was directed by Joachim Ronning in his most entertaining film since “Kon-Tiki.” His last two Disney entries were “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” and “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” both of which I wasn’t impressed with. But unlike those two, this one values Gertrude, her goals and ambitions, and the strong womanhood she possesses. Ridley delivers those qualities without trying so hard to sell the movie. She commits to the role, based on the real life swimmer’s challenges and family life. And universally excellent supporting work comes from Cobham-Hervey, Graham, Bodnia, and Hain.
I was annoyed when the young Trudy (Oliver Abercrombie) has to annoy everyone with her guitar playing, even when it’s past her bedtime. But thankfully, they don’t last long. Her theme song is “Ain’t We Got Fun,” which the older Trudy and everybody else sings throughout the film. This is a sign of optimism and high spirits, and that’s what Trudy needs even when she has to swim through jellyfish and cold water.
In my review of “Nyad,” I admitted that I wasn’t a graceful swimmer and I don’t like swimming in the ocean at night. And now in my review of “Young Woman and the Sea,” I’m repeating myself. And maybe in my future review about another swimmer, I’ll say it again. But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the movie for its courage, emotions, and laps. And there are a lot of laps worth checking out.