‘Maiden’: Bravery, Empowerment, & Incredible Pacing Make This Sailing Doc A Must-See [TIFF Review]

Whether they’re beautiful wildlife films narrated by British actors, stodgy political exposés, or tales too bizarre to be fiction, documentaries run the gamut of topics, styles, and frankly, quality. On the whole, documentaries manifest storytelling in its purest form. The factual films chronicle (mostly) meaningful events on a public and private scale without the predisposition of a fictional premise, while also exposing viewers to the most reviling and heartwarming aspects of human nature. This statement is especially true with the doc “Maiden.”

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One can only imagine how director Alex Holmes pitched his idea for the film: “Okay, listen. I want to make a 93-minute documentary about yacht sailing.” Clearly, the obvious question that you should ask given that synopsis is, “Who in their right mind would ever want to watch a movie about yacht sailing?” Surprisingly, the answer would be anyone who enjoys stories about defying regimes and altering the future of an entire industry. “Maiden” not only capitalizes on socially relevant themes currently permeating through modern cinema but also serves as an inspirational experience for anyone who enjoys film.

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The documentary centers on Tracy Edwards, who at the age of 24, led the first all-female sailing crew to compete in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race in 1989. This endeavor, thought to be both impossible and more than a bit preposterous by the crew’s male competitors, serves as the crux of the film’s thematic foundation but speaks equally to the ingenuity of the human spirit and female empowerment.

Naturally, as the outliers in a boy’s world, Edwards and her crew are subject to their fair share of public and male disdain over the course of their seven-month journey, though Edwards — in a snippet of archival footage — claims to strongly dislike the word “feminist,” stating that the purpose of the voyage is not a form of rebellion but simply the desire to prove everyone wrong.

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Consequently, Edwards herself is a fascinating, complex individual with a somewhat troubled past. The film delves into the sailor losing her father at age 10, living with an abusive stepfather, and her own bout with alcoholism, though these experiences only serve to drive her unquenchable thirst for sailing, a narrative component that “Maiden” investigates to a poignant effect through insightful interviews with both Edwards and the ship’s crew.

The documentary fires on all cylinders when it operates as a character-driven, adventure-thriller of sorts. Accordingly, the film does not deprive viewers of suspense, much to the credit of Holmes’ creative direction. Visually, the documentary never grows tiresome, and in fact, remains consistently creative stylistically throughout its entire runtime. The majority of footage chronicling the Maiden’s journey is compiled from VHS tapes filmed by the sailors themselves. As such, the outdated, grainy format adds a sense of tactile authenticity to the women’s voyage by capitalizing on the hazards of unpredictable weather while also capturing the solitary isolation of life at sea.

While “Maiden” is far from groundbreaking in terms of artistic flourishes, what distinguishes the documentary apart from its countless genre-mates is the pacing, which is constructed in a sleek, flawless fashion and blurs by without an inkling of a dull moment. The film is distinctly barebones with hardly a minute wasted, and though this editing choice certainly deprives viewers of diving deeper into the background of Edwards’ crewmates, it preserves a healthy, natural flow from scene to scene.

At its core, the documentary is an inspirational portrait of a hero. However, on a broader scale, “Maiden” represents much more than a well-crafted sports biopic. The film portrays the struggles of humanity and how bravery can incite societal change on an incremental level, while also honoring individuals like Tracy Edwards — revolutionaries who were unafraid to face adversity for the truth that they believed in and succeeded despite their encounters with danger and misfortune.

“Maiden” simultaneously functions as a timeless ode to passion and a reflective account of a fascinating highpoint in the history of women’s involvement in the sports industry. The film balances a fine line between a tense psychological examination and an insightful episode of ESPN’s “30 for 30” series but ultimately blends all its separate pieces into an emotionally resonant work that will leave you wanting to set sail and binge-watch documentaries for the next few days. [B+]

Check out all our coverage from the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival here.