This is the extraordinary true story of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to successfully swim the English Channel. Through the steadfast support of her older sister and supportive trainers, she overcame adversity and the animosity of a patriarchal society to rise through the ranks of the Olympic swimming team and complete the 21-mile trek from France to England.
Daisy Ridley
Trudy Ederle
Tilda Cobham-Hervey
Meg Ederle
Stephen Graham
Bill Burgess
Kim Bodnia
Henry Ederle
Jeanette Hain
Gertrude Ederle
Glenn Fleshler
James Sullivan
Sian Clifford
Charlotte 'Eppy' Epstein
Christopher Eccleston
Jabez Wolffe
Ethan Rouse
Henry Jr. (Teen)
Olive Elise Abercrombie
Young Trudy Ederle
Lilly Aspell
Young Meg Ederle
Raphael J. Bishop
Young Henry Jr. Ederle
Alex Hassell
Harry Horlick
Alexander Karim
Benji Zammit
Sebastian Griegel
Horst
Doc Butler
Uncle Ederle
Yordan Angelov
Karl Durshley
Robert Eades
Johnny Weissmuller
Hyoie O'Grady
Chip Anderson
Devina Vassileva
Aileen Riggin
Tessa Bonham Jones
Helen Wainwright
Vanina Yordanova
Millie
Saskia Vinkhuyzen
Ruth
Siobhan O'Connor
WSA Swimmer
Andy Sellers
Starlight Pool Lifeguard
Dennis Billingsley
Swim Instructor
Trevor Van Uden
Chip's Friend
Cat Haave
Annette Kellerman
Iliyana Koleva
Australian Female Swimmer
Paolina Popova
Australian Female Swimmer
Owen Davis
Starlight Pool Announcer
Brian Caspe
Starlight Pool Reporter
Nicholas Colicos
Starlight Pool Reporter
Michael Fleming
Radio Station Sound Man
Velizar Binev
Doctor Weiss
Meglena Karalambova
Sullivan's Mother
John Carew
Jonas
Petar Stoychev
English Channel Swimmer
Dimo Alexiev
English Channel Swimmer
Kiril Efremov
English Channel Swimmer
Kexin Wang
English Channel Swimmer
Anton Poriazov
English Channel Swimmer
Michael Amiar
Boat Captain
Bashar Rahal
Reporter on Boat
Sava Dragunchev
Reporter on Boat
Simon Balcon
Reporter at Beach
Roy Hill
Reporter at Beach
Rosen Rosenov
Alsace Bagpiper
Martin Lyamov
Alsace Bagpiper
Justine Viotty
French Nurse
David Calvitto
Mayor Walker
Derek Morse
USS American Crew Member
Paul Boichat
England Customs Officer
Laila Barwick
Young Girl in Butcher Shop
Tsvetan Marinov
Coney Island Street Performer
JR Esposito
Coney Island Cop
Lylianna Eugene
Coney Island Young Girl
Quinn Patrick
Carnival Barker
Ivan Panev
Coney Island Man
Laura Hinton
Coney Island Woman
Howard Chadwick
English Pub Bartender
Mariyan Stefanov
Babe Ruth
Jana Yakovleva
Neighbor
Clive Sawyer
Newsreel British Official
Robert Chapman
Alsace Reporter
Euan Macnaughton
Alsace Reporter
Director
Joachim Rønning
Book
Glenn Stout
Writer
Jeff Nathanson
June 1, 2024
7
On the face of it, it's a bit similar to last year's "Nyad", only I found this to be a more engaging depiction of the story of a young woman determined to struggle against not just the water, but of the societal limitations put upon her sex and assumed about her potential a mere century ago. As a young child, Trudy Ederle contracts measles. The doctor thinks that nothing can be done, but she has no intention of throwing in the towel yet and decides she'd rather have some cheese than a coffin! This illness is taking place against news of a maritime tragedy that saw many women killed. They were afraid to leave the burning ferry boat because they couldn't swim. Trudy wants to learn to swim, her mother wants her to learn to swim - but her father, an immigrant German butcher, is much more conformist. It's not right for women to swim! Now we get our first indication of the strength of mind of the women in this family as, sure enough, mother (Jeanette Hain) finds her and sister "Meg" (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) a women only swimming club run by "Lottie" (Sian Clifford) and next, after some seriously punishing training sessions, she (now Daisy Ridley) has her heart set on the Paris Olympiad. History takes over her story now as we follow this hugely inspirational person who sets out to prove that her sex need be no barrier to her abilities and that with the right support around her, she can accomplish just about anything. A combination of Ridley's enthusiastic and exhausting performance and a strong slew of supporting actors make this a genuinely quite poignant piece of cinema. Not only does it address issues of sexual repression, but also of racial and cultural attitudes that needed looking at from both within and without. Stephen Graham turns out well as the savvy coach Burgess and Kim Bidnia also strikes a fine balance between caring, fearing and inspiring as her father Henry. I am not really a fan of Christopher Eccleston, and his overly hammy depiction of Scotsman Jabez Wolffe didn't quite work for me, but this story is built well from the sand up by Joachim Rønning allowing us to feel some of the emotions running through the veins of this groundbreaking athlete and understand just quite why the public at the time cared, too.