Daisy Ridley stars in The Young Woman and the Sea
(Image credit: BFA / Walt Disney Studios via Alamy)
By The Week UK
published
In the past six months or so, we have had no fewer than three films about female open-water swimmers, said Brian Viner in the Daily Mail.
The latest stars Daisy Ridley as Trudy Ederle, the New Yorker who, in 1926, became the first woman to swim across the Channel. "It was a remarkable accomplishment, even more so as only five men had done it before her, and the fastest of them took two hours longer than she did." The story begins in Brooklyn in 1914, with Ederle struck down by the measles. Her parents think she's going to die, but she proves she is made of sterner stuff: "she not only recovers, but resolves to learn to swim", though her father (Kim Bodnia) considers it an "indecent" pursuit for a girl.
From here, the story "cleaves to the standard trajectory of such biopics" – with our "tenacious" heroine facing various setbacks, but showing again and again that "nothing is jolly well going to stop her". The film "deserves credit" for reviving interest in Ederle's achievements; but it's a bit of a belly-flop: "stolid", inelegant and surprisingly devoid of historical context.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The drama was conceived as just another piece of "streaming content" for Disney+, said Danny Leigh in the Financial Times. But the finished product "charmed test audiences" so much that it was given a theatrical release. And while it does rather prettify the tale (New York's tenements "twinkle so vividly you want to pack a bag and move in"), "it would take a churl to object to the schmaltz"; and Ridley is in top form here.
It's "impossible not to root for Trudy", said Charles Bramesco in The Guardian. But she's flatly drawn, as a gleaming "mascot for all that is good and right". We don't learn much about who she really was, or what drove her.
Explore More
FilmIn ReviewFrom The MagazineThe Week Recommends
To continue reading this article...
Create a free account
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
register for free
Already have an account? Sign in
Subscribe to The Week
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Subscribe & Save
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Unlimited website access is included with Digital and Print + Digital subscriptions.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week UK
The Beast: a 'wholly original' arthouse epicThe Week Recommends Léa Seydoux is 'majestic' in this adaptation of a novella by Henry JamesBy The Week UKPublished 8 June 24 Attacks on Russia: how will Putin react?Talking PointWashington lifts ban on use of US weapons against some military targets inside RussiaBy The Week StaffPublished 8 June 24 Today's political cartoons - June 8, 2024CartoonsSaturday's cartoons - pushover pachyderms, Biden's mental health, and moreBy The Week USPublished 8 June 24
The Beast: a 'wholly original' arthouse epicThe Week Recommends Léa Seydoux is 'majestic' in this adaptation of a novella by Henry JamesBy The Week UKPublished 8 June 24 Judy Chicago: Revelations – an 'absorbing' show from a pioneering feminist artistThe Week Recommends The new exhibition contains some 200 paintings, drawings and installationsBy The Week UKPublished 7 June 24 TV to watch in June, from 'House of the Dragon' to 'The Bear'The Week RecommendsThe return of an HBO fantasy epic, another 'Star Wars' show and more yelling in the kitchenBy Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week USPublished 7 June 24 Bluets: an 'experimental and engrossing' productionThe Week Recommends Ben Whishaw stars in this 'clever, culturally aware' adaptation of Maggie Nelson's prose poemsBy The Week UKPublished 6 June 24 Viola's Room: a 'darkly alluring' gothic taleThe Week Recommends Immersive theatre company returns with this eerie production narrated by Helena Bonham CarterBy Irenie Forshaw, The Week UKPublished 6 June 24 2024 Father's Day gift guide, for gardeners, photographers and moreThe Week RecommendsA present for every dadBy Catherine Garcia, The Week USPublished 6 June 24 5 satisfying books to read this JuneThe Week Recommends Tomi Adeyemi concludes her series, Questlove does hip-hop history and an experimental novel bends the rulesBy Theara Coleman, The Week USPublished 5 June 24 6 refreshing houses in Connecticut coastal townsFeature Featuring a restored Queen Anne Victorian in Fairfield and wraparound deck in MadisonBy The Week StaffPublished 4 June 24
