‘NYAD’ Review: The Netflix Biopic Has Annette Bening and Jodie Foster Swimming into Oscars Territory l TIFF 2023

This review was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the film being covered here wouldn’t exist.When actors are well-established in Hollywood, with numerous accolades and onscreen roles that span film and TV, it is hard to think that they can still surprise you with their talent. At age 65, Annette Bening continues to impress in an unconventional biopic about swimming legend Diana Nyad. Instead of doing a deep dive into the swimmer’s younger years up until her present-day accomplishments, NYAD centers on the later stage of her career when she finally achieved her dream of swimming from Cuba to Florida before anyone else. Although the journey wasn’t an immediate success, the trials and errors in this film make the finish line that much sweeter as directed by Oscar-winning documentarians Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi.

​ Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Vasarhelyi’s NYAD, starring Annette Bening & Jodie Foster, is a Netflix crowd-pleaser. Read on for our review.