Less a pure boxing film and more a tragic biopic with a hopeful ending, Christy chronicles the story of Christy Martin (Sydney Sweeney, looking almost unrecognizable in early scenes), who went from a small-town West Virginia girl to the first woman on the cover of Sports Illustrated because of her championship run in the boxing ring. Discovering she had an innate ability to knock people out and fueled by a desire to be something more than those around her, Martin (maiden name: Salters) grew up with a mother (Merritt Wever) who was never encouraging or protective and a father (Ethan Embry) who was far more supportive but still beholden to his domineering wife.
Christy falls under the influence of gym owner Jim Martin (Ben Foster), who starts as her manager and trainer, but eventually became her husband. From her high school days, Chirsty had always liked girls, including a secret relationship with Rosie (based on a real-life person and played by Jess Gabor), but in an effort not to appear gay she allows the relationship with Jim to happen, even though, as soon as they are legally wed, he starts showing tendencies that run the gamut of physical and mental abuse as well as completely dominating her career and taking credit for all of her achievements in the boxing world. He does eventually get her an audience with promotor Don King (Chad L. Coleman), who puts her in her first high-profile undercard fight, and her fame takes off from there.
Directed by David Michôd (Animal Kingdom, The Rover) and co-written by Michôd and his partner Mirrah Foulkes, Christy traces Martin’s uphill struggle to get out from under her husband’s grip and to a place where she can live and love the way she wants to, even as her struggle comes at an unfathomable price as he tries to murder her when it becomes clear she is going to leave him. That sequence plays out like a straight-up, no-frills horror movie, and knowing nothing about Martin’s career or boxing in general, it shocked the hell out of me.
The great Katy O’Brian shows up late in the film as boxing rival Lisa Holewyne, who eventually becomes part of Christy’s training regimen, and the two grow quite close as they get to know each other. I think Sweeney’s physical transformation to play Martin is only surpassed by her actual performance. There’s nothing polished about her except the way she throws a punch, and the manner in which she shows us how Martin confronts her family, fights for identity, deals with sexism in her chosen field, and copes with her husband’s childish insecurities about his own manhood is powerful stuff at times. Christy isn’t a great movie, but it has a few great elements in the way it illustrates this woman’s battle to reclaim her life.
The film is now playing in theaters.
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