Sydney Sweeney’s performance will leave you KOed.
After my viewing of “Christy” a few months ago, I got in an elevator and I held it for a woman who was trying to get through the door. En route down, we both agreed that neither of us have heard of the female boxer Christy Martin before and what a crazy life she had. She discovered her own lesbianism between the 5th and 6th grade, her conservative parents were exceedingly disapproved of that, she found trainers that gave her select boxing matches, she was given the nickname “The Coal Miner’s Daughter” based on her father’s job, and she was forced to marry her coach Jim Martin, who transitioned from a sexist and homophobic to an abusive, greedy, and murderous monster. He tried to murder her, but she survived and he dies in prison. And through it all, she made a name for her in the boxing world.
I know my introduction sounds like a spoiler alert, but this is a true story, and this isn’t an easy movie to watch given the circumstances and it’s not a perfect boxing movie, but it is gripping and entertaining in its representation of her story. For starters, we have Sydney Sweeney, whose best movie was “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” while her worst included “Madame Webb” and the overrated “Immaculate.” And she did appear in an American Eagle jean commercial that sparked up controversy with critics accusing it of being an endorsement of eugenics and white supremacy. “Christy” brings her back in the right place, and she knocks you out doing so.
Besides Sweeney, the cast also includes Ben Foster looking nearly unrecognizable as Jim Martin, Ethan Embry and Merritt Wever as her parents, Katy O’Brien as her boxing rival Lisa Holewyne, Jess Gabor as her high school sweetheart Rosie (real life person’s name was Sherry Lusk), Chad L. Coleman as the legendary boxing promoter Don King, and Bryan Hibbard, Tony Cavalero, and Gilbert Cruz as her support group (Hibbard plays the one trying to understand her pathos).
“Christy” was directed by David Michod, who also made “Animal Kingdom” and “The Rover.” And he co-wrote the screenplay with Mirrah Foulkes, who also acted in “Animal Kingdom.” Their screenplay tries too hard to have the pathos overshadow the courage of her boxing life, but it does remind or introduce to us Christy Martin and how she struggled to make a name for herself. It sure as Hell wasn’t easy, because of Jim, the homophobia, her mother being cold even after Christy was almost murdered, and the fact that most people would prefer to see male boxers over female boxers at the time. It’s more of a movie I would see once, given those elements.
I’m told that Sweeney put on some weight (30lbs) and took some punches in order to prepare her for the role, and her acting reflects on the real Christy. Foster is also a great actor who continues to make a name for himself from blockbusters like “X-Men: The Last Stand” to independent features like “Hell or High Water,” and his performance here takes no prisoners. We hate Jim for what he has done to Christy, and I’m sure the actor hates him too. And I like how Coleman tries to add some humor when Don denies ever seeing Jim at any of his shows (“Nope,” Nope”), and how he tries to be serious by telling Christy to stop complaining about her paychecks in the media.
“Christy” wants to follow in the footsteps of “Rocky,” “Raging Bull,” “Million Dollar Baby,” or “The Fighter,” while choosing its own path. And like any path, there are going to challenges and complications, but it all comes through in the end.
