Young Woman and the Sea (Disney+)

It wasn't storms or jellyfish that were swimmer Trudy's biggest obstacle when she decided to break the world record - it was the patriarchal society that constantly wanted to put her in her place, just like many other women in the bleak 1920s. Swimming upstream was never really in Ederle's character, however, and in 1926 she became what journalists called the 'Queen of the Waves' after proving the world wrong.

Young Woman and the Sea is the true-life story of Gertrude Ederle, a semi-deaf swimmer who made the impossible possible when she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Star Wars star Daisy Ridley plays the historical figure with fervour and spark, with each obstacle only strengthening her resolve to swim the race. It's a classic sports film in every way: it's upbeat and fiery, but it's also predictable and as by-the-numbers as it possibly can be. There's really no need to innovate the successful sports film recipe, as Young Woman and the Sea doesn't pretend to be more than just that: a well-made and decent film that doesn't really manage to stand out from the crowd.

The problem is that the filmmakers do not allow for any suspense as the story is obvious from the beginning. There is nothing in this film to make the viewer doubt Trudy's eventual triumph because we have already seen the same story thousands of times. One could argue that this is to be expected in this kind of sports film and that the aim of the film is to inspire rather than break away from the familiar biopic template. Be that as it may, there are plenty of uplifting moments here, dealing not only with Ederle's life story, but also with the struggle of women to be taken seriously in a society that looked down on women's true potential. There is a positive energy that permeates the story for those looking for something refreshing and hopeful. However, it is not particularly engaging and I feel that the sentimental film takes a few too many shortcuts to make the sweetness of victory taste as it should.

It's far from a bad film, though. As a historical drama, this is a particularly good-looking rendition of 20th-century gritty New York, and Norwegian Joachim Rønning has a proven track record of staging stories at sea after films like Kon-Tiki and Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge, where you're quickly swept along on Ridley's splashy path to victory. The pace is as fast as Trudy's flippers, and while several supporting characters can feel a little flat in the long run, it's hard not to root for Trudy. If anything, the film is a nice reminder of the real-life Trudy and the timeless message to never give up on your dream - even if it means swimming through both prejudice and jellyfish.