Year: 2024

Runtime: 129 min

Director: Joachim Ronning

Actors: Daisy Ridley, Christopher Eccleston, Bill Burgess, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Kim Bodnia, Jeanette Hain, Ethan Rouse

By Caz Armstrong

“Young Woman and the Sea” is the true story of Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle (Daisy Ridley). At just 20 years old she was the first woman to swim the 21 miles across the English Channel. She overcame childhood measles, and as she grew faced sexism and stigma but persevered through all kinds of challenges in pursuit of her goal.

If sports biopics wouldn’t normally appeal don’t worry. This is warm and emotional human story rather than something with more technicality or machismo. Aimed at family audiences, it safely introduces younger viewers to the kind of sexism holding women back through history (and today) and how important trailblazers have been.

The wholesome tone is fairly light with most of the grittiness and peril washed out. Visually, this is rich and warm and props to VFX for making an entire Coney Island and swarm of jellyfish. At points it’s a bit trite but we have to remember this is a Disney film and it’s not going to push the bounds of storytelling.

A healthy weight of the story is set in her childhood which helps to ground it and make her a more rounded character. We can understand the reason for her determination more deeply after spending that time with her.Of course we know that Ederle will eventually manage the crossing but we’ve been given enough of the gravity of the swim to be really invested in her success. So the drama is in her overcoming various obstacles.

There’s a succession of injuries, failed attempts and sabotage metred out one after the other.  Despite this plodding towards the inevitable I did find myself really rooting for her success.

The on-screen notes at the end pack a final punch, and I’d love to see “Young Woman and the Sea Part 2” to cover her other feats. She won two bronze and one gold medal at the 1924 Paris Olympics and became a swimming instructor for deaf children.

This gritty and real story is perhaps trite but lovely and warm to watch. It opens up the story of a trailblazing and inspiring woman to a wider audience. Daisy Ridley’s performance is powerful and she put in so much swimming training to be able to pull off such a physical role. I hope many young people can find a new heroine to look up to.