MAIDEN – A Review by John Strange
Tracey Edwards was the child of two exceptional people whose accomplishments set the bar for her (even though I don’t think she ever truly realized this). Her parents were her rock until her father’s untimely death by heart-attack when she was 10-years-old. Her mother found nothing but trouble when she tried to run her husband’s business and eventually lost it.
When her mother remarried the man turned out to be a drunk and a beater. He beat his wife and Tracey, too. This turned Tracey from an active over-achiever into a sullen trouble-maker who was expelled from school after too many suspensions. At this point, she ran away from home. Far away.
Winding up working as a cook and stewardess among boat crew gypsies, she found freedom sailing. She set her sights on the world’s biggest sailing event, the Whitbread Round the World Race that circumnavigated the globe every three years.
This race had always been a “boys club”, no women allowed. Tracey managed to gain a berth as a cook (barely) working on a British boat in the 1985 race. During the race, she absorbed as much knowledge about the sport as she could of how everything worked.
The bulk, in fact, the best part, of this documentary is the all-female team of the “Maiden” and the challenges they faced. These challenges are told via video footage taken during the race and first-person remembrances of that crew. The sailing community was astounded by their accomplishments during the race.
This is a wonderful story of people working to accomplish their dream.
Directed by: Alex Holmes
Cast: Tracy Edwards, Jeni Mundy, Mikaela Von Koskull
MPAA Rating: PG (for language, thematic elements, some suggestive content, and brief smoking images)
Selig Rating: A
Runtime: 93 Min.
Movie Site: www.sonyclassics.com/maiden/
The Selig Rating Scale:
A – Excellent movie, well worth the price.
B – Good movie
C – OK movie
D – No need to rush. Save it for a rainy day.
F – Good that I saw it on the big screen but wish I hadn’t paid for it.
