One of the most exciting, invigorating, and crowd-pleasing films of 2024 will not be a sequel, prequel or reboot. If I was a betting man, I would put all my cinema dollars on Young Woman and the Sea. What’s that you ask? Well, it’s a sports movie of a different type and it’s also the kind of story that’s most likely to surprise.
Directed by Joachim Rønning (of Kon-Tiki), this tells the true-life story of Trudy Ederle, the competitive swimmer, who, in 1926, was the first woman to ever swim across the English Channel.
This sensational film sits comfortably next to the likes of Apollo 13, Rudy, even The Queen’s Gambit and others the simple fact that what we are watching does not just involve the protagonists. Those stories also highlight important people in their lives: those championing them, and helping in whatever way possible. And that’s inspiring on a number of levels.
All in all, the world needs more of these films. Not just for how they make us feel, but for the importance of the message, and highlighting the achievements of individuals we may not otherwise have known of.
To bring this home, the film needed an unbelievably impressive and rousing score. Amelia Warner was up to the challenge and proved herself as the right choice very early on. In the episode today, she tells us about her experiences crafting the themes that help make this movie sing – the two most important ones being “Sisters” and “The Race“.
While a period piece, there is a lot of modernity to the sound palette, and that helped because it didn’t limit the instruments to what was common of the time or expected in films set in the early 20th century.
The film also is jaw-dropping and gorgeous to look at. You could tell everything was a set and that level of attention to detail, the meticulousness to props, set dressing, and everything helped make this feel lived in and more real. This entire project and everyone involved – from producer Jerry Bruckheimer to Rønning’s direction, the talented cast led by a spellbingingly honest, spirited and tenacious Daisy Ridley, and of course Warner’s heartwarming and powerful score – help knock this out of the park.
Yes, that’s the wrong sports analogy to use, but Young Woman and the Sea will give you the same feeling. The score is now living in my head rent-free and will continue to do so for years to come. I expect that people will love it in the same way, so enjoy our time with Amelia and check out this film ASAP!
Disney’s “Young Woman and the Sea,” the extraordinary true story of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to successfully swim the English Channel, is coming to theaters nationwide in a special engagement May 31, 2024.
