Christy, 2025.
Directed by David Michôd.
Starring Sydney Sweeney, Ben Foster, Merritt Wever, Katy O’Brian, Ethan Embry, Jess Gabor, Chad L. Coleman, Tony Cavalero, Miles Mussenden, Jay Croft, Coleman Pedigo, Bryan Hibbard, Buddy Carter, Bill Kelly, Marvin LaViolette, Emma Jackson, Gilbert Cruz, Naomi Graham, Valyn Hall, Stephanie Benkovich, Adrian Lockett, and Stephanie Baur.
SYNOPSIS:
Tells the story of Christy Martin, the most successful female boxer of the 90s.
When prodigy boxer Christy Salters (an exceptional performance from Sydney Sweeney) is paired with manager Jim Martin (a slimy and horrifying Ben Foster), who initially dismisses the potential draw of women’s boxing in 1989 and regularly makes cruel remarks about her body and dedication to training, mom Joyce (an infuriatingly conservative Merritt Wever) voices that such hurtful language is a key ingredient to training anyone. It’s a line that hangs over co-writer/director David Michôd’s Christy (penning the screenplay alongside his wife Mirrah Foulkes, from a story outline by Katherine Fugate) like a dark cloud, as the talented boxer represses her queer identity to make her family proud not only through boxing, but also by marrying the whiny, pitiful 40+ Jim as part of looking like the model celebrity and subservient housewife, propping up something ideal that they would approve of.
Scolded by her family for visiting a friend named Rosie (Jess Gabor), as rumors spread that would tarnish the household’s evangelical image, Christy is left alone. Even Rosie concedes that it’s for the best if they don’t see each other, fearing the potential repercussions. For as much as Christy stumbled upon boxing as her calling, taking that hobby seriously and professionally not only came from legitimate curiosity of whether or not she could make it as a star, it also came from a crippling loneliness that found her accepting calls in an empty mobile home (away from her family and on the road for fights) to come over to Jim and hang out, where it’s implied that things became sexual.
Christy wasn’t just groomed to be the first great female boxer; she was also romantically groomed at around 20 by her manager, who would then go on to verbally, emotionally, physically, and sexually abuse her across their marriage and her career. One keeps coming back to her own mother’s words — that this was normal — and that, even when Christy pleads for help, she’s just being crazy.
To call this film enraging would be an understatement. Yes, it is a boxing film chronicling key moments in the career of Christy Martin (capturing some vicious blows delivered by her and some kinetic in-ring filmmaking by cinematographer Germain McMicking), with Sydney Sweeney seemingly relishing the opportunity to portray such bravado in the ring, accompanied by superb trash talk along the way.
It’s also about much more than boxing, showcasing how nearly every aspect of her life was under some form of control; even during interviews, the insecure and severely fragile Jim would order Christy to behave in his image, whether it be through making light of feminism or crossing the line from trash talk into flat-out disrespect, with a choice homophobic slur thrown at fierce competitor Lisa Holewyne (Katy O’Brian). There is a moment when Christy is gifted a feminine pink boxing robe, which also serves as a subtle message that he owns her identity. She will be what he wants her to be (it’s also possible the real Christy happens to love the color, but the man does try to squash every ounce of queerness and “butchness” out of her appearance.
Transformative and terrifying, Ben Foster is playing a man paranoid that, at any moment, Christy might finally break away from his abuse and embrace her repressed sexuality. However, considering that her career was on a meteoric rise (she was in the first women’s match to be aired on pay-per-view), they opened a gym together and were living comfortably; one can see why she couldn’t necessarily bring herself to get away. Jim’s behavior is constantly escalating, growing more disturbing, and intensifying whenever she talks back to him (for his own good, as he did for her career, it’s also apparent that he is full of lies about much else) or dares to speak to another woman. This is an empowering boxing story that transitions into a bleak and vital inspirational portrait of resilience in the face of domestic abuse.
Less effective when fixated on her big victories and clichéd rise to fame, the filmmakers found more time to interrogate Christy’s mental space, repressed feelings, and struggle with identity. Christy is, at times, a standard biopic that could stand to delve a little deeper in those areas, but as a story of survival, it is harrowing and vital, with an ensemble immersed in these roles.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews and follow my BlueSky or Letterboxd
Originally published November 3, 2025. Updated November 4, 2025.
