Soul Surfer is a 2011 true story movie based on Bethany Hamilton’s 2004 autobiography Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board about returning to surfing after surviving a shark attack, and most of it remained accurate to what happened in real-life. Directed by Sean McNamara, Soul Surfer stars AnnaSophia Robb as Bethany Hamilton along with Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, Lorraine Nicholson, and Carrie Underwood in her acting debut.
Bethany Hamilton is an American professional surfer who came to prominence after surviving a shark attack in 2003, during which she lost her left arm. The shark severed the limb just below the shoulder which meant she could not wear weight-bearing prosthetics, so Hamilton taught herself to surf with just one arm. Against all odds, she ultimately returned to professional surfing mere months after the traumatic accident. And though it's based on true events, the movie Soul Surfer did change some details for dramatic effect.
For example, Hamilton lost so much blood in the attack that, in Soul Surfer, her heart stops as she arrives to the hospital. In real life, Bethany Hamilton didn't go into cardiac arrest but did lose over 60% of her blood and, thus, went into hypovolemic shock. Interestingly, every significant plot point of Soul Surfer is true to the events outlined in Hamilton’s autobiography. On October 31, 2003, 13-year-old Bethany Hamilton went to surf along Tunnels Beach, Kauai, with her friend Alana Blanchard, and Alana’s father and brother. A 14-foot-long shark attacked her and Hamilton was rushed to Wilcox Memorial Hospital, where her father was scheduled to have a knee surgery that same morning. These events are accurately portrayed in the movie and filming even took place at the same beach where the attack really happened.
Likewise, the events after the shark attack are charted in Soul Surfer, much like how they really happened in real life. A family of fishermen caught and killed a tiger shark about one mile from where the attack happened. After finding surfboard debris in its mouth, the fishermen brought their catch to investigators, who determined the measurements of its mouth matched the chunk taken out of Hamilton’s board. The only change in Soul Surfer is that Hamilton’s dad, played by Quaid, is the one to compare the shark’s mouth to the surfboard.
Hamilton’s journey to relearn surfing involved a custom-made board with a handle for her right arm, just as demonstrated in Soul Surfer. After accompanying her Church youth group to Phuket, Thailand, as part of a relief effort for tsunami victims, Hamilton realizes that she can use her gifts as a surfer to inspire others, events which happened like they were shown on screen. Months later, Bethany Hamilton made the National Scholastic Surf Association (NSSA) finals and took fifth place in the Girls 18 and Under category. This victory is where Soul Surfer concludes; footage of the real Bethany Hamilton surfing and photos of her family and friends then appear alongside the rolling credits. In every way that matters, Soul Surfer remained faithful to the true story, with two notable exceptions in the movie being her cardiac arrest and who compared the surf board to the shark's teeth.