Nyad is worth watching on Netflix (premiered last month) because of its actresses, Annette Bening and Jodie Foster as they test the highs and lows of their friendship. The biographical sports film follows swimmer Diana Nyad (Bening) as she makes the impossible route to swim from Cuba to Florida, USA.

The demanding physical role for Bening might make her a strong contender for the Oscars’ Best Actress race. For three decades, she was nominated for four Oscars (three Best Actress and one Best Supporting Actress) but never won one. 
At 60, Nyad is bold, stubborn, and obsessed to succeed even in the midst of total failures. For three decades, she had five attempts to complete the Cuba to Florida course.

Directed by Free Solo Oscar winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the film makes use of creative discrepancies. For one, there was no shark attack in her 2013 attempt. But its insertion gives the movie a more suspenseful obstacle for our unconventional character. 

What makes Bening a good actress? She accepted the challenge to be Nyad. At her 60 plus age, she trained for a year to be “competitive” swimmer. It showed in her physique—arm muscles, her lesbian looks, and her delivery of dialogue. It was a total transformation from the Bening we knew in American Beauty (1999).

Lifelong BFF Bonnie Stoll (Foster) was a big part of Nyad’s success. She formed the support team and pushed the swimmer, coming out of retirement to do the impossible and conquer the 110-mile open ocean swim.

Nyad and Bonnie argue a lot but they continue to stick to each other. Watching the two actresses past their prime, but are so willing to share their innate talent to the audience, is such a pleasure for us.

This film marks the 10-year anniversary of Ayad’s historic swim although it was not officially recognized or certified by a swimming body due to lack of records and independent observers. 

People love sports movies like Raging Bull, Rocky Balboa, Ali, Rookie and Ayad is one of the current sports movies that is well-executed. Never mind if the character is controversial or egoistic. 

Adapted by screenwriter Julia Cox from Nyad’s memoir, Nyad gives movie quotes that are worth hearing. We listed them down for inspiration. 

Her three messages after swimming for 52 hours and 54 minutes: “One is we should never ever give up; two is you are never too old to chase your dreams; and three is it looks like a solitary sport but it is a team."

The other meaningful movie quotes are the following. Nyad: “Well, everyone should have a superiority complex. Everyone should feel like the star of their own life. 

Nyad: “Just because we're on a one-way street hurtling towards death doesn't mean that we have to succumb to mediocrity. I mean, you turn 60 and the world decides that you're a bag of bones.”

Bonnie: “Stop.” Nyad: “I can't. I won't. I will not accept defeat.”

Nyad: “My mind has never been clearer. Don't you get it? The mind. This is what I was missing when I was younger. I've got it now.”

Bonnie: “The mind does not swim 100 miles across the ocean, right? The body does.”

Nyad: “Listen to this. ‘Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?’”