I recently went to see this film, starring Daisy Ridley as Trudy, at the cinema and was truly blown away. In all honesty I just wanted to relax one afternoon at the cinema and nothing was on that particularly took my fancy. I didn’t want to watch action or adventure and so it was either Young Woman And The Sea or nothing.

I watched the trailer and thought it looked interesting enough and so gave it a watch and I’m so glad I did. I haven’t seen much discussion of this online or much PR surrounding it but I think it is a must watch and deserves more attention. For a Disney film it certainly had a quieter launch than most, especially with it only being on in select cinemas.

It follows the story of Trudy Ederle from New York who became the first woman to swim the English channel in 1926. It watches her family and the beginnings of Trudy’s career when Trudy and her sister Meg fell in love with swimming, joined a woman’s only team and competed in the olympics. It charts Trudy’s further obsession with being able to swim the channel, including her undertaking multiple attempts and setbacks, and the backlash from her family, coaches and the general public.

In the end, Trudy does manage to swim the channel and it is depicted in the film that she had the support of both America and England, where she arrives, and her family. The film notes the parade that took place in New York for Trudy was to this day the largest one for any athlete, which I find rather incredible. Go Trudy!

I felt the film was very emotive, showing the ups and downs of family life, navigating being a woman and also having a dream in 1920’s New York, despite the constant doubting of those around her. It had a sense of quiet greatness to it and a real sense of drive.

I couldn’t help but wonder- why was this the first I was hearing about Trudy? Akin to stories of those such as Amelia Earhart I thought it bizarre that Trudy’s story is not widely known. As a result I am so glad Disney gave Trudy’s story the space it deserves as it truly is inspirational and certainly funny at points as the film shows. I think every woman has felt trapped by the confines of her society or environment and Trudy broke free of those and accomplished something great- a true inspiration.

So, give it a watch and go for a swim.

Yours, JustJasLettering xx