'True Spirit' Review: A magnificent tale of perseverance and a towering achievement
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: It’s not easy for a 16-year-old to map out what he or she wants to achieve in their life. At that age, a lot of things come to mind and goals change every single day. However, an Australian girl named Jessica Watson had already mapped out what she wanted to do in her life and did everything to achieve her dream of becoming the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop, and unassisted around the world. She became a national hero when she returned home after completing her voyage in 210 days, but not a lot of people know about her inspiring journey. Netflix’s ‘True Spirit’ primarily focuses on her voyage and how she defied the odds and critics to achieve what she wanted to achieve since the age of 12.
Based on the true story of Watson, the film begins with a trial run off the Australian coast at night and things become quite difficult for her when her sailing boat gets into an accident that could have destroyed her dreams forever. She contacts her coach, Ben Bryant (Cliff Curtis), with the devastating news, but makes it clear that she can return to the port in her boat and doesn’t need a rescuing. Her parents, Julie (Anna Paquin) and Roger (Josh Lawson) are worried about her daughter and start thinking if their child should be continuing with this daunting task or not. As always, the media needed some spice so they started questioning Watson’s intelligence and if she was prepared to do this. On the other hand, they started calling her parents ‘irresponsible’ for letting such a young child go on a solo sail. But things get even worse for Watson when her boat suffers damage and none of her sponsors is helping her. Even the government is not helping her and is planning to introduce a bill that could ban her circumnavigation.
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Is Netflix's 'True Spirit' based on a true story?
Bringing a True Story to Life
Even after suffering so many setbacks, Watson never backs down and is determined to do what she wants to. In between these setbacks, viewers are introduced to a very young Watson and how she was doing everything and anything to complete her lessons so that she can sail around the world. But she didn’t know that the sea or ocean is a peculiar place and things can go from good to bad to worse in a jiffy, but that didn’t stop her from sailing toward her destiny.
The best part of the movie is that it mainly focuses on the experiences that Watson had before and during her voyage. Director Sarah Spillane has done a phenomenal job of keeping the story grounded and not getting distracted by all the drama that took place after Watson came back home. ‘True Spirit’ is an uncompromising view of her journey and features all the emotions that she went through in those 210 days. Sailing around the world at 16 is a daunting task and getting support from your parents is even harder. But Watson never had that sort of problem because she was always supported by her family and siblings, which gave her the ultimate strength to figure out how she is going to battle all the gigantic waves that are waiting for her.
The movie beautifully sheds a light on the moments of loneliness, anger, and self-doubt, making us realize that a young child can become something other than what society had intended, something greater. Yes, the gushing winds and storms will knock you down, but you need to get up and give a befitting response by continuing your journey and that’s what Watson did.
Brilliant acting performances elevate the movie
Teagan Croft as Jessica Watson is marvelous and she manages to capture every single emotion felt by her character in the most précised way. She does an excellent job of showing the strength and vulnerability of the person. Croft enthralled us with an amazing performance in ‘Titans’, but this role is undoubtedly her career-defining role and would open a lot of doors for her. On the other hand, Cliff Curtis as Watson’s coach is fantastic. He is grumpy and doesn’t show a lot of emotions after a tragic accident that took place during the Millennium Cup. After that, he never sailed and only helped Watson because she was not taking a “no” for an answer.
Anna Paquin and Josh Lawson as Watson’s parents are mesmerizing. You can’t imagine how terrifying it would have been for the parents to see their child going on a journey that could be catastrophic and the duo does an excellent job of presenting different kinds of emotions in their respective roles. It was so good to see Paquin in a promising role after such a long time.
Stacy Clausen and Bridget Webb as Watson’s siblings are fantastic, but the real star of the movie is Vivien Turner. The youngest member of the Watson family is funny and has the shades of Jessica because she is not afraid to speak her mind. She is going to be a STAR.
An Inspiring story of perseverance and determination
All in all, ‘True Spirit’ is a heartwarming tale of perseverance and keeps the story grounded. The fantastic writing team did a brilliant job of drawing the viewers in to be a part of Watson's grueling yet awe-inspiring journey. The movie also tackles the aspect of mental health in the most sophisticated manner and makes sure that ‘True Spirit’ doesn’t turn into a depressing watch.
Heartwarming and enthralling, this inspiring movie should definitely be on your watchlist.