Following the inspiring true story of American competition swimmer and Olympic athlete Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim 21 miles across the English channel, “Young Woman and the Sea” aims to offer audiences a more hopeful viewing experience than they’ve been used to lately. Speaking with A. Frame, the film’s director Joachim Rønning, stars Daisy Ridley and Tilda Cobham-Hervey, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer share how moved they were upon reading the script and why they think this is the story to bring summer moviegoers into theaters.
“Jeff Nathanson’s script was one of the best scripts I’ve ever read — if not the best script I ever read,” Rønning said, “and it just had everything I’m looking for in a story: It’s dramatic, it’s very emotional, it’s funny, it’s scary, it’s inspirational. It’s a true underdog story about someone that were willing to risk their own life to prove a point.”
For Cobham-Hervey, who plays sister to Ridley’s Ederle, getting to explore the dynamic between two women in the 1920s was what drew her to the story. She said, “For me, it was the relationship between two women who were really supporting each other through a time of immense change, as much as it is so important to tell stories of women in history that have not been celebrated in the way that they should have in their time.”
Ridley said she also loved being part of a film that aims to inspire by showcasing familial bonds. She said to A. Frame, “Particularly now, to have a film that is joyful and hopeful and is real and really talks about triumphing over adversity, but centers on this family who love each other and support each other and want the best for each other, it feels like we could all do with that right now.”
This is a big selling point for Bruckheimer who thinks that, despite the old-world nature of the story, there’s universal appeal in a film that can separate viewers from present day.
“Everybody’s looking for good entertainment. Everybody’s looking for something that takes them away from their lives for two hours and puts them in another world that they can be inspired by,” said Bruckheimer. “You walk out, and you feel better than when you walked in. That’s what we do when we make movies, and that’s why we go to theaters — to have that group experience, and to be with other people who are laughing and crying along with us. That’s what we do. And look, we did it with ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ and hopefully we’ll do it again with this.”
