IN 'NYAD,' JODIE FOSTER SWIMS AWAY WITH A SHOWCASE FOR ANNETTE BENING

In "Nyad," there are two feats of perseverance on display. First, there is the ceaseless determination of Diana Nyad (Annette Bening) to accomplish a marathon swim from Cuba to Florida across 103 miles of open, shark-infested waters.

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Then there is the mettle of Nyad's support team to tolerate the singularly self-absorbed and stubborn Nyad. Both, in the film, are an endurance sport.

"Nyad," which is in limited theaters now and streams Nov. 3 on Netflix, is in many ways a conventional sports drama, defined by long odds and personal triumph. But there is enough here to help the film, directed by the intrepid filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, if not swim against the tide of sports-biopic convention then at least ride a swift current to the finish line.

First and foremost there's the fact that this is a sports drama led by two actresses in their 60s: Bening and Jodie Foster, who plays Diana's best friend and personal trainer Bonnie Stoll. When "Nyad" gets underway, the setting isn't the 1970s, when Nyad's record swims made her a headline-grabbing sensation. It's Diana's 60th birthday, which for her only marks her long distance from a real challenge. "Where's the excellence?" she says.

Diana Nyad (Annette Bening) is fiercely determined to reach her swimming goal in "Nyad." - Courtesy of Netflix

Diana soon thereafter gets back in the pool, resolving to complete the Cuba-to-Florida swim, a route some moviegoers may associate more with the Go-Fast boats of Michael Mann's "Miami Vice" than athletic pursuit. For Diana, the 50-hour endeavor is a matter of completing a long-ago abandoned dream and a way to prove to herself (and everyone else) that age is no match for her will.