YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA -- Young NYAD

Review by Adam Donato

Daisy Ridley as Trudy Ederle in Disney’s live-action YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA. Photo courtesy of Disney. © 2024 Disney Enterprises Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Daisy Ridley's career took off when she was cast as the lead in Disney's Star Wars sequel trilogy. After those movies were met with varying levels of success, Disney would love to keep their young talent in-house. She's had a hard time translating anywhere else. Chaos Walking, Murder on the Orient Express, and the Peter Rabbit movies have failed to build upon her celebrity. With talks of another Ridley-led Star Wars film in the air, it's smart to keep her in audiences' minds with the release of Young Woman and the Sea. Disney loves making these little uplifting family dramas headlined by one notable star. Ridley already has good standing with feminist film fans as she gracefully handled all the negative backlash from sexist nerds about being a Mary Sue. This story has strong female empowerment themes, so it fits her perfectly. Will it translate with audiences or get lost in the depth of Disney+?

It wasn't long ago that NYAD was campaigning for awards, and now we have a very similar film. Instead of an old woman trying to swim from Cuba to Florida, it's a young woman trying to swim from France to England. Young Woman and the Sea has the added pressure of taking place a century ago when society wasn't accepting of female empowerment. Besides that, they are, beat for beat, the same movie. This one has fewer swimming scenes than NYAD, but those scenes still drag after a while. These scenes are purposefully laboring to exemplify the hardships the character is going through, but it's not an enjoyable experience sitting through after a while. It still checks the boxes of being a testament to the human spirit, though. Trudy Ederle's story is super inspirational and will resonate in the hearts of audiences everywhere, especially women.

Daisy Ridley as Trudy Ederle in Disney's live-action YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA. Photo by Vladisav Lepoev. © 2024 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Ridley's character is so headstrong and confident that it's infectious. Seeing her defy all expectations of the time and relentlessly pursue her dream is admirable. She demands respect in every way. Ridley balances her game face with being charming as ever. She has a bit where she repeatedly sings one line from a song that gets annoying. Besides that, she's a solid lead, and it's sad that her history with Star Wars, while being responsible for her start, is cannibalizing her image. Hopefully, this opportunity will be just the start of more for her as she continues to branch out in her career. 

Without a theatrical release with any real marketing behind it, Young Woman and the Sea is destined for a fate similar to her last performance, The Marsh King's Daughter. This is so the type of movie that Disney+ will bury away. Ridley is an exciting young actress with way more to offer than wielding a lightsaber. This film is a good history lesson for anyone who isn't sexist. It's a general story that has been done a million times, but it's uplifting nonetheless. There's nothing to hate, but there's plenty to enjoy. ​

Young Woman and the Sea hits theaters on May 31.

Rating: 3/5