“Featuring a knockout performance from Sydney Sweeney, Christy hits the canvas a few times, but gets up to deliver a great sports biopic.”
Christy is a sports biopic of the American professional boxer Christy Martin. It depicts Martin’s rise to becoming America’s most well-known female boxer in the 1990s, and later her husband’s attempt to murder her in 2010. Christy Martin herself was involved in the making of the movie. Sydney Sweeney portrays Christy in the film, with Ben Foster as James V. Martin, Christy’s coach-turned-abusive husband. Merritt Wever, Katy O’Brian, Ethan Embry, Jess Gabor, Chad L. Coleman, Tony Cavalero, Bill Kelly, and Bryan Hibbard. The film doesn’t shy away from many aspects of Christy’s life, bringing a sports biopic that sometimes hits hard. But can the film do justice to Christy Martin and her story? Or does it hit the canvas and stay down for the count?
PREMISE
Christy Martin never imagined life beyond her small-town roots in West Virginia—until she discovered a knack for punching people. Fueled by grit, raw determination, and an unshakable desire to win, she charges into the world of boxing under the guidance of her trainer and manager-turned-husband, Jim. But while Christy flaunts a fiery persona in the ring, her toughest battles unfold outside it—confronting family, identity, and a relationship that just might become life-or-death.
THOUGHTS
The film is lightweight in some areas, but that doesn’t stop it from becoming a compelling biopic. Some of what is shown on screen does, at times, come across as brutal and harrowing. It also deals with attitudes towards Christy’s sexuality, confronting them head-on, leaving the audience shocked as to what Christy had to endure. Many of these slights came from Joyce Salters, Christy’s conservative mother. These slights have us gasping in shock. Joyce’s attitude and evilness towards Christy’s High School girlfriend are completely wrong. If uttered in today’s world, these comments would see Joyce locked away for hate speech, something the audience will hope for during the film.
Merritt Wever gives an evil but gripping performance as Joyce. It is a credit to the actress in how she portrays her character. She makes us utterly despise Joyce in her scenes, most of which feature Sydney Sweeney as Christy. With Ethan Embry as John Salters, Christy’s conservative father, coming across as a pushover and fearful of contradicting his wife, the pair are despicable throughout. Also featuring an all too brief but superb performance from Katy O’Brian as Lisa Holewyne, Christy’s biggest boxing adversary and later wife, the film has a supporting cast that all give their all in bringing the story to the screen.
SYDNEY SWEENEY
Those looking for a glamorous performance from Sydney Sweeney here are in for a disappointment. The actress gives possibly her finest ever performance, one that should rightly be nominated for Best Actress during the upcoming awards season. She is phenomenal. From the outset until the very end, Sydney Sweeney gives a powerhouse of an acting performance. She built herself up to prepare for the role, and it shows. The actress is completely believable, coming across as a nice girl who has the right attitude and temperament to become one of the boxing industry’s biggest stars. This isn’t Rocky; this is a faithful adaptation of Christy Martin’s legacy in and out of the ring.
The actress throws herself into the role, making us believe we are watching the real athlete at times. However, it is her performance outside of the ring that cements her place as an Oscar contender. The way she is shown training, the deftness in which she portrays the anger, the will, and the determination to succeed, and her dramatic acting in many of the scenes show Sydney Sweeney can handle anything that is thrown at her. When the inevitable attack that almost claimed Christy’s life is shown, we want to shout at her to get out of the way, to not confront her husband, despite knowing what actually happened. Even in these scenes, we are astonished by the acting on display here. Sydney Sweeney has definitely earned her place on the acting role of honour with this performance.
BEN FOSTER
Ben Foster as James V. Martin, Christy’s coach-turned-abusive husband, is also deserving of a nomination for his portrayal here. From the moment we first encounter him, we are wary. He is genuinely unlikable from the start. Martin feels he is due, that he deserves credit for everything Christy accomplishes. He doesn’t realise that it is her talent, her determination, and her skill that have led her to be a top female athlete. He feels it is all him, and not her, that has accomplished this. From a nasty and vindictive trainer, he becomes a nasty, vindictive and jealous husband who is riding on his wife’s coattails. He is vile. The way he controls Christy’s life, her friendships, her contracts, and her career proves he is a nasty piece of work, seriously deluded.
Martin even enables her addiction to cocaine to control her. If that isn’t bad enough, he steals most of her earnings to fund an extravagant lifestyle for himself. When he attacks his wife for finally standing up to him, walking out on him and threatening to cut him out of her life and career, he finally snaps. What we think will be him raising his hand to his wife once again, he instead produces a knife and stabs her several times. We think this is bad enough. However, he returns a few moments later with a gun and shoots her, leaving her for dead on the bedroom floor. We are shocked by this senseless violence, even though we know it’s coming. Foster throws himself into his role, making the character one to hate and despise throughout. It is an extraordinary performance from a gifted actor.
WRITING AND DIRECTION
The screenplay by Mirrah Foulkes and David Michôd tells the true story extremely well. They don’t pull any punches (pun intended) with their interpretation of the events. However, we get the feeling they skipped much of what happened during Christy’s life and career. What we are given here is more of a highlights reel and not the whole story. This, sadly, drags the film down somewhat, making it an enjoyable, compelling, but lightweight biopic. It is dramatic, never less than interesting, but it leaves us feeling empty with the lack of many of the true events, making the film hollow at times.
David Michôd’s direction is assured. He directs the film with panache, with a flair at times that elevates the film above the somewhat empty script. However, he directs his actors brilliantly, films the boxing scenes expertly, and handles the drama with equal aplomb. At the very least, he directs his leading lady and male to almost certain Oscar nominations. All in all, Michôd does a sterling job with the film.
VERDICT
Featuring a knockout performance from Sydney Sweeney, Christy hits the canvas a few times, but gets up to deliver a great sports biopic. The only problem is that it’s a great sports biopic, not a great one. It could have and should have been a complete knockout. Instead, with performances from Sydney Sweeney and Ben Foster raising it up, it just about scrapes a win on points. The acting on display here is heartfelt and amazing, with sequences that astound as well as shock. But it all comes in a package that tells a decent story, just not the whole one. However, it does contain some decent comedy to temper the drama at times.
When the movie ends, we learn more about Christy Martin through on-screen text and real-life photographs of her and Lisa Holewyne. It explains their relationship after James V. Martin was jailed for attempted murder. It sends us home with a sense of contentment and hope. While we may not have seen the definitive sports biopic, we have, at the very least, seen a great one that ends on a high note with a great sense of optimism. Despite hitting the canvas on a few occasions, Christy gets up to deliver a knockout at times. Seconds out! This could be Sydney Sweeney’s Oscar-winning knockout.
Christy will be released in the United States on November 7th and in the United Kingdom on November 28th, courtesy of Black Bear.
Introducing Carl! As the News Editor at Future of the Force, Carl has been an invaluable member of our team since early 2016. His expertise and dedication have made him an integral part of our editorial staff. Beyond his professional role, Carl is a fervent supporter of Liverpool F.C. and an avid follower of pop culture. He has a deep passion for Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the iconic movie franchises Star Wars and Star Trek.
He can be found either at his neighborhood cinema, enjoying the latest releases on the big screen, or at home streaming the newest blockbuster movies.
