The sports biopic has always loved a triumph-against-all-odds story, and Christy delivers one with devastating force. Directed by David Michôd and premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival (Special Presentations), the film dramatizes the life of Christy Martin, the first female boxer on the cover of Sports Illustrated whose rise to fame was shadowed by abuse, drugs, and near death at the hands of her trainer-husband.
A Story Beyond the Ring
The film begins in small-town West Virginia, where young Christy discovers her talent for boxing in high school. Her blunt ambition — “I just want to knock people out” — sets her on a path through the regional circuits until she meets Jim Martin (Ben Foster), a controlling trainer who becomes her husband. Initially skeptical of her, Jim quickly recognizes her potential and exploits it, intertwining her professional success with an abusive marriage.
By the mid-1990s, Christy ascends to Las Vegas undercards and signs with promoter Don King (Chad Coleman), who amplifies her brand as the “Coal Miner’s Daughter in Pink.” Decked in pink trunks, cars, and gloves, she becomes a media sensation — even as her personal life grows darker.
From Glory to Horror
Michôd, working from a script co-written with Mirrah Foulkes (from a story by Katherine Fugate), follows Christy’s rise before pivoting to her painful decline. By the early 2000s, she’s struggling in the ring — notably knocked out by Laila Ali — and in her marriage, where Jim’s abuse escalates. His obsession with controlling her sexuality culminates in an attempted murder, echoing real-life tragedies like Star 80 and What’s Love Got to Do With It.
The film’s third act abandons the boxing tropes to become a harrowing domestic drama, forcing audiences to confront the brutal realities behind Christy’s triumphs. At the Toronto premiere, the audience audibly gasped during the climactic scenes.
Performances That Land Every Blow
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Sydney Sweeney delivers a career-best turn, embodying Christy’s toughness and fragility with raw conviction. She shines in the ring sequences and devastates in the quieter, bruised moments of survival.
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Ben Foster, once again drawn to morally complex characters, plays Jim as a chillingly abusive figure, his performance both magnetic and repulsive.
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Merritt Wever adds layers as Christy’s complicated mother, while Katy O’Brian impresses as Lisa Holewyne, Christy’s longtime friend and eventual wife.
A Familiar but Necessary Story
At 135 minutes, the film feels long and occasionally repetitive, weighed down by some by-the-numbers biopic beats. Boxing montages and Don King’s flashy entrance recall genre clichés, but Christy Martin’s story remains compelling enough to transcend them.
What makes Christy resonate is not just the arc of a fighter’s career, but the tale of a survivor who refused to be broken. Christy’s real-life resilience — from nearly being killed to later marrying Holewyne in 2017 and becoming a promoter and advocate against domestic violence — gives the film weight far beyond the ring.
Verdict
Though uneven in pacing, Christy is anchored by Sydney Sweeney’s powerhouse performance and an unflinching look at domestic abuse. It’s a bruising, sometimes excruciating watch, but one that honors the extraordinary resilience of Christy Martin.
