In his Christy film review, Kevin Bourne calls Sydney Sweeney’s latest “an inspirational masterclass in onscreen performance” as Sweeney and Ben Foster deliver performances of a lifetime.
After a busy 2024, the era of the biopic continues in 2025 with a number of icons being immortalized on the big screen, including Bruce Springsteen (Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere), Mark Kerr (The Smashing Machine), and Whitney Wolfe Herd (Swiped). But chief among this year’s biographical films is Christy, retelling the inspirational true story of one of the greatest woman boxers to ever enter the ring.
The film follows Christy Salters (Sydney Sweeney), a small town girl and student basketball player from Mullens, West Virginia who inadvertently discovers her talent for fighting. After meeting her trainer and future husband Jim Martin (Ben Foster), Salters becomes Christy Martin, fighting her way to the bright lights of Las Vegas and the top of the boxing world. But success would come with a cost. Behind the scenes, Salters lived a dark life, including drug use and a toxic, abusive, and tumultuous relationship with her husband-trainer. But despite her dark journey, In the end, Christy proves to be a fighter in every sense of the word.
But behind the almost unbelievable story is also a bit of a commentary on the stigmas surrounding same sex relationships and domestic violence that kept Christy Martin’s secret life in the shadows for far too long.
While Sweeney has become a punching bag for her critics off-screen, when it comes to her work on screen, her abilities as an actor are undisputed as she delivers the best performance of her career. When it comes to biopics, it can be difficult for actors to completely immerse themselves into the role. It can come across as a star actor trying to play a legendary figure with their star power shining too bright for the role. In Christy, Sweeney completely immerses herself into the role as she slides into the background and Christy Martin comes to the forefront. From her weight gain and in-ring movements, to her bravado and facial expressions, Sweeney’s transformation into Christy Martin is simply impressive.
Her nomination-worthy performance is matched by that of her onscreen partner Ben Foster, who delivers a career defining performance in his own right. Foster is believable as Martin’s insecure, unhinged and psychotic husband. Together, Sweeney and Foster deliver performances of a lifetime and are among the top onscreen acting duos of the year as they bring skill and raw emotion to their roles. Simply put, Christy is an inspirational masterclass in onscreen performance.
Kevin Bourne is SHIFTER’s Toronto-based editor and Senior Entertainment Reporter focusing on Black music and film & TV. He was named one of 340 international voters for the Golden Globe Awards and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.
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