"Nyad" chronicles Diana Nyad’s attempts to swim from Cuba to Florida

Directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin have made spectacular documentaries about elite, ground-breaking athletes. “Meru” (2015) watches as Chin, Conrad Anker, and Renan Ozturk complete the first ascent of the granite wall called Shark’s Fin on India’s Meru Peak. “Solo” (2018) profiles climber Alex Honnold’s free solo climb of El Capitan’s 900-metre rock face in Yosemite.

True to form, their “Nyad” takes as its subject an extraordinary, record setting individual, marathon swimmer Diana Nyad. Rather than a nonfiction presentation, they dramatize Nyad’s attempts to become the only person to swim the one hundred three miles from Havana, Cuba, to Key West, Florida, without a shark cage, in dangerous waters, including jellyfish, sharks, and strong currents. Nyad first attempted the arduous swim in 1978 when she was twenty-eight and then took up the challenge again in her 60s. She would need all her resolve to make repeated attempts at achieving her goal.

Based on Nyad’s memoir, “Find a Way: The Inspiring Story of One Woman’s Pursuit of a Lifelong Dream,” the film “Nyad” stays as focused on Diana as she herself is, that is, such extreme athletes give their monomaniacal, narcissistic attention to one dream, one overarching goal. They use and even endanger others in their quest, as becomes increasingly obvious with Diana’s determination to succeed after failing multiple times. I would have welcomed learning more about her devoted friend and coach Bonnie Stoll, ship captain John Bartlett, and others who aided Nyad. They remain relatively underdeveloped.

Music and sound comment on and complement the action, which is impressive, especially given the dominance of water scenes. Equally remarkable, as Nyad, Annette Bening trained for a year and did her own swimming. As Bonnie, Jodie Foster, as always, gives a first-rate performance, especially as Bonnie goes through a range of emotions. And Rhys Ifans is excellent as captain Bartlett.

As truly inspirational as Nyad’s story is, including her having to weather teenage sexual abuse by her swimming coach, her achievement has not been formally ratified by Guinness World Records or certified by the World Open Water Swimming Association. There are charges of embellishments, discrepancies and undocumented hours, debates over possible assistance, and the fact that multiple boats accompanied her. Even partially true, Nyad’s is an astonishing story. “Nyad” is streaming on Netflix.