SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot points, including the ending for “ Young Woman and the Sea ,” currently playing in theaters. While Joachim Rønning read the script for “Young Woman and the Sea,” he made little notes as he went along. When he reached the end, his first thought was, “This is amazing.
” His next thought was: How could he possibly capture what he had just read on screen? “Young Woman and the Sea” tells the story of Trudy Ederle, played by Daisy Ridley , who in 1926 became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. But a case of measles – which nearly killed her and left her with severe hearing loss, stood in her way, along with sexism. Yet, she overcame the odds.
Rønning’s challenge was balancing backstory with motivation, going on the journey with the character, and then being there as she achieves that goal. The filmmaker wanted to punctuate the film with such moments, particularly one near the film’s end: “When she’s lost in the dark, and people come out onto the cliffs and light the fires, I thought that was so amazing. I hope I get to translate that onto the screen, so those moments become important.
” It began with Rønning making the film as real as possible. “I wanted to be on the ocean. I wanted to be in the real elements with Daisy Ridley swimming through the currents and cold water,” says the director whose credits include “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” and “Kon-Tiki.
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