Reviewed on 6th September at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival –Special Presentations, 135 Mins.
Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Ben Foster
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, Sport
Director: David Michôd
In Irish Cinemas: 28th November 2025
The path for women in combat sports has always been a steep, unforgiving climb. Among the many male-dominated arenas, boxing stands out as one of the most historically resistant to female participation. Even so, Christy Martin stormed onto the scene in the 1990s, broke barriers, and became one of the first women in the sport to command significant media attention, a trailblazing journey more than worthy of a cinematic tribute. Yet David Michôd’s Christy, mainly crafted as a showcase for rising star Sydney Sweeney, seems oddly disinterested in the groundbreaking athletic legacy at its centre. Instead, the film gravitates toward personal turmoil and family conflict, framing the narrative in a tone so grim and unvaried that its attempts at gritty realism fall flat without the stylistic or emotional nuance to support them.
The story opens in a hard-edged Southern dive in 1989, where Martin wins $300 in an amateur bout. Nicknamed “The Coal Miner’s Daughter” thanks to her upbringing in Tennessee, she would eventually grace the cover of Sports Illustrated and prove that a woman could carry a pay-per-view event, a notion many in the era dismissed outright. Sweeney commits fully to the role, delivering a fierce, physically demanding performance, yet the script offers fewer layers than the transformation suggests.
As Martin’s fame grows, the film traces a parallel descent into an increasingly violent and controlling marriage with her much older trainer-husband, Jim, portrayed with chilling menace by Ben Foster. His grip on her career and finances tightens as he attempts to reshape her public persona, erasing any hint of queerness to maintain what he deems a “marketable” image. Agency slips further from her reach as success mounts, creating a painful contradiction at the heart of the drama.
Sweeney leans into a less glamorous, more grounded persona to highlight dramatic range, a shift reminiscent of Margot Robbie’s turn in I, Tonya or Charlize Theron’s in Monster. The approach pays off in places; her Southern roots lend authenticity to the tough, plainspoken figure she portrays. However, the film sidelines promising elements, most notably the underutilised Katy O’Brien as formidable opponent Lisa Holewyne. Michôd’s narrow focus on the toxic marriage, with boxing relegated to the margins, leaves the narrative adrift and oddly hollow.
Christy features committed performances and clear ambition, both inside and outside the ring. Still, the film’s lack of thematic direction and uneven emphasis keep it from delivering the compelling portrait its subject deserves.
Overall: 6.5/10
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