Summary

• Trudy Ederle's determination broke records in swimming, inspiring female athletes and changing sports history.
• Daisy Ridley's portrayal of Trudy embraces joy in the midst of challenges, highlighting the importance of family .
• Young Woman and the Sea showcases the immigrant story of a woman's triumph, with powerful performances and emotional depth.

Young Woman and the Sea tells the inspirational true story of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Trudy faced many hardships in life, including surviving a devastating illness as a child, but when she first stepped foot in the water, she discovered her calling as a swimmer. Trudy was determined in her training and broke countless records, even winning a gold medal at the 1924 Olympics. But in 1926, she set out to take on her most difficult challenge yet, swimming across the English Channel, a feat that many had attempted and failed, with some even losing their lives in the pursuit of this dream. However, Trudy's determination changed the world of sports and helped push female athletes forward.

Young Woman and the Sea is based on Glenn Stout's book of the same name. Jeff Nathanson adapted it into a screenplay and director Joachim Rønning brought it to life on screen. Daisy Ridley captures the fortitude of Trudy while also showing the love she had not just for swimming but for her family as well. While this is an inspiring sports movie, the heart of Young Woman and the Sea is an immigrant story about a family ing one another no matter what.

While at the premiere of Young Woman and the Sea, Screen Rant had the chance to interview the cast, including Daisy Ridley, Jeanette Hain, Kim Bodnia, as well as Glenn Stout, who wrote the original novel, screenwriter Jeff Nathanson, and producer Chad Oman. Oman discussed Ridley's dedication to the project, while Ridley explained why joy was at the center of her performance. Hain, Bodina, and Stout all broke down the importance of the family dynamic in Young Woman and the Sea.

Daisy Ridley Wanted To "Imbue" Trudy With Joy Throughout Her Life

Ridley is the driving force of Young Woman and the Sea, carrying the emotional and physical weight of the story. However, she revealed why joy was something she wanted at the heart of her performance as Trudy as a swimmer and a sister.

Daisy Ridley: What I really wanted to imbue her with, it might have been on the page, but my feeling coming in was that I wanted there to be a lot of joy. I wanted to play someone who just loved what she was doing. She loved swimming, and that's why she did it. I wanted there to be joy between her and her sister, and joy between her family. And so all of the things she's overcoming are serious and true, but there's such goodness between them all.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

Ridley was not only the star of Young Woman and the Sea, but she served as a producer as well. Her ion for this story shines through not just in her performance, but also in the dedication she had to telling this story and being a part of the larger creative picture. Oman shared how her determination made her such an important creative partner when making this movie.

Chad Oman: So we went to Daisy early on, and she immediately became a partner. She was a real creative partner. We worked with her all the time on the script and character. I came to really rely on her all the way through shooting for her leadership in of character and performance because she really was dialed in about the tone of the character and the tone of the story. We were just real creative partners all the way through. So the second she became involved, she was a hundred percent committed.

I connected her with a former Olympic swimmer, a British swimmer who won the silver medal, and she put her on a pretty intense training routine. Daisy was a hundred percent committed so that she really knew how to swim in this particular style, open water swimming is different from indoor swimming. It's a whole different style. It's harder. So she put everything into it. And then, all the way through shooting, she continued to train. We talked every day about the script, the character.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

The Cast Shares Their Thoughts On Trudy's Story

Fleshler shared what he took away from learning Trudy's story. Although his character isn't the most ive of Trudy's dream, Fleshler is clearly impressed by her conviction and perseverance as an athlete.

Glenn Fleshler: I think it's just the singleness of focus that somebody would carve out. And I know various people have attempted these kinds of feats throughout history, but it takes such incredible will and determination. You have to focus on that goal and then just let nothing stand in your way. And she's one of those people that shows up every decade or two and achieve something so astounding.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

Abercrombie, who played young Trudy, shared her reaction when she first heard Trudy's story. She also explained how the set helped transport her to the 1920s, which helped her get into the mindset of her character.

Olive Abercrombie: Well, before I started the movie, we looked up a couple things about her, and she's just amazing. I'm like, how have I not heard of her before? When we went on set, all the sets were beautiful. I thought I was actually back in the 1920s. It was just so cool.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

Jeff Nathanson Explains How Jerry Bruckheimer Got Involved With Young Woman And The Seas

Jerry Bruckheimer has become a staple in Hollywood, producing some of the most iconic action and sports movies to date. Young Woman and the Sea is the perfect fit as an inspirational sports movie with a larger message, but Nathanson revealed that Bruckheimer seemed a bit hesitant at first. However, once he was on board, Bruckheimer became one of the movie's biggest champions over the course of the eight years it took to get it made.

Jeff Nathanson: I went in and Jerry's known for some very male driven, explosive film, and I said, I've got this movie about a young girl from New York who swims the English Channel. And at first he said, Well, how am I supposed to get involved in that? And then once we started talking about this story, we realized that she was as heroic as any character he's ever put on film. So that's what made it so special, because Jerry and I and Daisy and Joachim, we all had the same vision in our minds. And with Jerry behind us all, that's all we needed.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

The Family Is The Heart Of The Young Woman And The Sea

Stout, who wrote the original book that the movie is based on, was delighted when the relationship between Trudy and Meg remained the heart of Young Woman and the Sea. He revealed how he thought Trudy's desire to make her sister proud was a driving force in her swimming career.

Glenn Stout: I think one of my favorite things about the film is that Joachim Rønning has preserved [the dynamic between Trudy and Meg] as Jeff Nathanson did in the screenplay because Trudy's relationship with her sister Meg was really key.

Meg was kind of her protector, her champion, and although Trudy ended up doing something that benefited all women, I think initially she just wanted to make Meg proud of her. I love the fact that that relationship is central to the movie runs all the way through, and I think it's one of those things that's really going to resonate with people.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

Hain, who played Trudy's mother, broke down why Gertrude was so ive of Trudy's dream, beginning with helping both her and Meg learn to swim. While this broke many societal norms, Gertrude did everything she could, even fight with her more traditionally minded husband, to make sure Trudy could swim.

Jeanette Hain: I think I realized very soon that already when my daughter was very, very little, that she has an absolutely strong will and perhaps she [reminded] me of my own will. I could not really live, and this is, I think I tried to her against perhaps in a patriarchy society, this was the time. I think Gertrude, she wanted her girls [to] learn to swim and not this kind of dog pedaling, but the real American crawl, and so she did everything. I was sewing flowers and I was fighting with my husband because I wanted the girls to learn swimming and I felt that this was the biggest dream of my daughter.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

Bodina, who played Trudy's father, explained why Henry was more set in his ways and how it was meant to keep his family safe. However, he also discussed how Henry evolved as he began to understand Trudy's desire to swim and break records, becoming ive of this seemingly impossible endeavor.

Kim Bodnia: Well, he is tough. If you grew up as an immigrant in New York, you want people to feel comfortable with you. You don't want to a mess because then everybody wants to pull you down. And then you have a daughter that [wants] to do stuff that everybody can look down on you [for], why? So that was especially fantastic to developing the character's journey as a father to go with her and say, Yes, we are going to change the world. We are going to do this. We are proud of you. We are proud of who we are, and I trust you now. So that was incredible.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

About Young Woman and the Sea

Young Woman and the Sea tells the story of Gertrude Ederle, an American swimming champion, who first won a gold medal at the 1924 Olympic Games. In 1926, Ederle became the first woman to swim 21 miles across the English Channel.

Check out our other Young Woman and the Sea interviews:

• Daisy Ridley & Tilda Cobham-Hervey
• Jerry Bruckheimer
• Joachim Rønning

Young Woman and the Sea hits theaters on May 31.