Mariel (Karla Souza) is in training for what will be her final Olympics in Athens with Mexico’s diving team. The coach, Braulio (Hernán Mendoza) places Mariel with a young, fourteen-year-old diver new to the team, Nadia (Dèja Ebergenyi), to be her partner, but Mariel is afraid the girl’s inexperience will keep the duo from achieving the gold medal. During their training season, Nadia’s mother Irene (Fernanda Borches) discovers in her daughter’s diary that Braulio has been inappropriate with the girl and levies these allegations with the Olympic Federation, bringing the team’s future into question, and with it, revelations for Mariel’s past. 

Lucía Puenzo directs Dive, a Spanish-language drama from a jointly penned script by Monica Herrera and Samara Ibrahim. The Amazon Prime exclusive film examines the inevitable relationships that form between a coach and the team, but it is not seeking to absolve inappropriate actions or make excuses when unjust imbalances of power are exploited. At a seemingly brisk 95 minutes, Dive is a heavy watch playing out more like a suspense film that a traditional drama all the while dealing with darker themes not unlike Doubt (2008), The Hunt (2012), and Liquid Truth (2017). What makes the film stand out though is how Herrera and Ibrahim balance and frame the story so that the truth is never clear until the final tense fifteen minutes as they allow the audience to speculate and question their own interpretations of what they are seeing. 

The film is led by Souza who delivers a stunningly strong performance as a woman who will stop at nothing to achieve her goals. She takes a role that would be easy to underplay and develops a full character around that, while fierce and vicious when needed, she is also so smart, cunning, and vulnerable, too. Souza navigates Mariel’s layers of anxiety and guilt mixed with pride and ambition in a way that makes the sports drama highly accessible, even for those unfamiliar with diving. Though Mariel is in the top percentile of her sport, Dive, through her trauma, keeps her humble but does not exploit or blame her; rather Herrera and Ibrahim seek to dissect and understand the complicated ripple effects these allegations can have on a community and they use Mariel as their way into this complicated story. Souza, then, to her credit, is unflinching in front of Nicolás Puenzo’s camera as Mariel processes her grief and comes to her resolution for justice not just for her, but for Nadia and the larger integrity of her sport. 

Dive find the humanity in the sport, even those at the top level, and steers the narrative to have the stakes remain in the humanity and dignity of the characters instead of just focusing on “the big game.” This allows for a much more interesting experience given the unpredictability of human action whereas more traditional sports dramas follow the ebbs and flows of an underdog story. For fans of diving, they may find themselves disappointed at the few moments in the film where the sport is highlighted either from dives off the high boards or invigorating training montages; a trope Dive rejects almost in its entirety. This is Mariel’s drama, and while her initial motivation is to win the gold for Mexico, over time she begins to see reflections of her own ambition and her relationship with Braulio in how he treats Nadia, and these revelations begin to reshape and redefine her. It is a fascinating arc to watch develop over the course of the film, and it is important to note that while Mariel and Nadia’s handling of these accusations may not always have been in line with one another, the script remains survivor-focused while never blaming either woman on when they chose to speak or stay silent. The script supports their choices and while it never gives any of the characters an easy out of their situations, there is a level of justice that courses through the narrative which never leaves anyone totally abandoned. 

What is most interesting about Dive is how it presents the multiple bad-faith arguments often used to discredit survivors of abuse when they come forward with their allegations, but the script weaves them into the dialogue in such an unassuming way that is really incredible to watch. The action never drives to a halt so that Mariel can take the stand and correct the narrative around the scandal, but she has to react in real-time to these comments made by the people around her and sometimes they continue to talk over and around her explanations and corrections. It is clearly a script that an incredible amount of thought was placed into as they constructed these exchanges, and a strong practice to never allow Mariel a chance to proselytize because so often those scenes, even when well performed, can interrupt the tension and pacing of the film. Instead of monologuing, Herrera and Ibrahim force Mariel to fight for her beliefs and take an active role lest history repeats itself on Nadia. 

Puenzo’s Dive, in one of the closing title cards, reframes the story once more as one that was based on true events, and while the specific case may not be a singular occurrence, the film is an amalgamation of an unfortunate history of abuse in the sports world. It is an unassuming yet important drama that is not looking to solve the problems but rather, it wants to peel back the layers of camaraderie and inform those who might not be aware of the avenues of abuse present in these environments. Notably, Dive is not condemning the existence of youth enrichment programs whole cloth – if anything Herrera and Ibrahim highlight how these programs give youth a chance to grow and gain confidence in their abilities – but it is shining a light on the importance of creating barriers between the mentor and the student for the protection of both parties. It also serves as a reminder that just because someone has opened the doors for success, that does not allow them to act illegally and immorally, and that as a community the onus is on all of us to protect those around us who may not feel they have the power in them to speak out against their abusers.