Sydney Sweeney Delivers a Knockout In a Story About Battles Beyond the Ring: Christy Film Review
Sydney Sweeny in Christy. Photo courtesy of Elevation Pictures.
At first glance, Christy looks like a familiar entry into the sports-biopic canon. The film follows the rise of pioneering female boxer Christy Martin, played by Sydney Sweeney, whose small-town grit and early-career hunger recall the raw energy of I, Tonya. But as the story unfolds, director David Michôd trades the ringside triumphs for a slow-burn descent into domestic abuse and psychological control. What begins as an underdog tale transforms into a chilling portrait of survival, power, and the cost of being silenced.
It’s impossible to take your eyes off of Sweeney throughout the film, simply because she transforms into a character we’ve never seen her play before. Stripped of her usual glamor and controversial persona, she embodies Christy Martin with an emotional precision that makes it easy to forget the actress behind the gloves. There’s a physicality to her work that reflects both the brutality of the sport and the violence that haunted Christy’s private life. We’ve come to know Sydney Sweeney for her doe-eyed tropes, but here she strikes a delicate balance between strength and fragility, portraying a woman fighting not only her opponents but her entrapment. It’s easily one of Sweeney’s most stand-out performances to date and will no doubt spark awards-season buzz.
Behind the scenes: Sydney Sweeny and director David Michôd. Photo courtesy of Elevation Pictures.
Equally captivating is Ben Foster as Jim Martin, Christy’s trainer-turned-husband and abuser. Foster brings an unnerving menace to the role, one that grows more insidious with each scene. At first, Jim seems like the archetypal tough-love coach, who brushes aside Martin abrasively for being a woman, but eventually softens as he discovers her talent. By the film’s midpoint, however, his possessiveness curdles into something that becomes extremely tough to watch. Foster’s subtle escalation of tension keeps the viewer constantly on edge; his performance is both terrifying and tragically believable.
Still, Christy isn’t without its blind spots. While the final act leaves audiences breathless — culminating in a sequence that drew audible gasps in the theatre — the film’s focus on trauma overshadows Christy Martin’s triumphs. Her induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020, her pioneering role for women in boxing, and her eventual marriage to her rival Lisa Holewyne, all deserve more than a fleeting nod. The omission risks flattening her story into one defined solely by victimhood, rather than resilience and redemption.
Similarly, the inclusion of Don King (played with unsettling charm by Chad L. Coleman) feels tonally inconsistent. His scenes, while often humorous and almost saviour-like as he tries to undermine Jim Martin at every turn, gloss over the real-life controversies surrounding the infamous boxing promoter (which include murder!) that could have offered a richer backdrop to Christy’s world and to the spectacle of boxing itself, particularly for women fighting against gender inequity.
Ultimately, Christy succeeds as a gripping and emotionally devastating drama, even when it stumbles as a biopic. It’s a story not just about boxing, but about the fight to reclaim one’s identity after years of coercion and control. Sweeney’s portrayal captures the vulnerability of a woman who refused to be defined by her abuser, and in doing so, redefines what a sports film can be. Christy is bruising, visceral, and unrelenting — a powerful reminder that sometimes the hardest battles are fought outside the ring.
