I knew almost nothing going in, except that Netflix recommended it when I asked for a yet-unavailable Oscar nominee. It has a higher IMDb rating than several other suggestions, tho 7.1 is still pretty low as these things go.
Diana Nyad (Annette Bening) gained fame in the '70s for setting distance swim records. Most of the movie is set in the 2010s, when she's in her early 60s. To fight boredom, she starts swimming again. In fact, she plans to do what she failed to do at 28 and what no one else has done: swim from Cuba to Key West. Few people have any confidence that she can, but her determination wins support, however shaky, from close friend Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster) and navigator John Bartlett (Rhys Ifans). Indeed, Diana gets a boat with dozens of people to sail alongside her for food, drink, medicine, defense against sharks, and rescue if needed. It's as expensive as it is dangerous, yet she'll try as many times as it takes to reach the goal or die. You've probably guessed correctly that this story wouldn't be told unless she made it, albeit on the fifth attempt.
Swimming is the one athletic activity I've considered myself proficient at, but I doubt I ever spent a consecutive hour treading water. Diana's course takes days in optimal weather, and the current is treacherous enough that a leisurely backstroke won't do. After a while, she can't hold down nourishment, and her words indicate hallucinations. Her final effort isn't even when she's in her worst shape; earlier, she meets a box jellyfish. The sunburn threat alone would be a dealbreaker for me.
In case you're wondering, Bening does a pretty rigorous job, but not to the extent it looks. Most of the water is CG. I had no idea until after viewing.
As befits a biopic, we get details that aren't especially relevant to the plot. I'm kind of surprised that Diana keeps "Nyad" with pride; it may sound invigorating, but it comes from an abusive and then absent stepfather (Johnny Solo) who didn't even use his real surname. The other major man in her early life, Coach Jack Nelson (Eric R. Miller), sexually molests her. Both repeatedly crop up in flashbacks. I'm glad Diana didn't let them dissuade her from her dream; I don't know if they contributed to her orientation, which comes up only early on (she and Bonnie had briefly dated).
If there's one significant deliberate departure from the truth, it's in Diana and Bonnie locking horns, according to the real Bonnie. Their friendship was never in jeopardy, despite a period of not working together. On screen, Diana grates on acquaintances by acting like only her opinion matters, taking a while to recognize that their ordeals, while less than hers, are not negligible. I have to admit that a lack of interpersonal conflict would make the story a lot less interesting to watch. Certainly Foster wouldn't have been up for awards.
Apparently, a key reason the film isn't more popular is that no unbiased party can confirm that Diana followed all the rules during the journey. Guinness no longer credits her record, and she confessed to having stretched the truth about her past achievements. Well, for my part, I always take "true" stories on screen with a grain of salt anyway. And even if she cheated, I'm sure she did enough legit exercise to impress me.
You don't watch a picture like this for surprises. You watch to admire grit and develop a hopeful view of what we can do even in old age. I deem my two hours well spent.
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