Review: Christy (2025) – A surprisingly powerful drama that outshines every sports film of the year
Director David Michôd delivers a boxing drama featuring Sidney Sweeney in the performance of her career.
One of the biggest surprises of this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) was Christy, a film that had just premiered at TIFF, where it already stirred attention but fully came to life in a packed VIFF theatre. What looked like a standard sports biopic turned out to be one of the most emotionally powerful screenings of the festival.
Not long ago, Sidney Sweeney was still often reduced to “the attractive girl from Euphoria.” Despite her growing filmography, many viewed her more through her image than her acting. But with Reality, Echo Valley, and the rom-com Anyone But You, she began shifting expectations. And in Christy, she breaks them completely.
To portray boxer Christy Martin, Sweeney underwent a dramatic physical and psychological transformationu – gaining around 30 pounds (13.5 kg), training with professional fighters, and shooting boxing scenes without a stunt double. Real punches. Real blood. Real bruises. Director David Michôd (The King) adapts the true story of the first female boxer ever featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated (1996). Christy Martin, known as The Coal Miner’s Daughter, became a trailblazer of women’s boxing and an icon for a generation of athletes.
A Fight for Identity
Christy (Sidney Sweeney) grows up in an environment where she’s expected to be a “proper girl.” Her small-town family disapproves of her, especially of her relationship with another girl, which doesn’t fit their conservative vision. Boxing becomes her escape, and soon her weapon for proving her worth.
When she begins training under Jim Martin (Ben Foster), her career accelerates rapidly. From local competitions, she rises to professional success, becoming a defining face of women’s boxing in the 1990s. But the partnership with Jim shifts. Admiration turns into control, and what begins as a supportive mentorship evolves into something far more dangerous and suffocating.
The Fights Hurt — Literally
The boxing scenes in Christy are strikingly unvarnished. Michôd keeps the camera close. Punches land with weight. You feel every collision. Sweeney’s commitment to doing all the physical work herself shows in every frame.
It’s impossible not to compare the film with The Smashing Machine (2025). Where that film felt detached, observational, and nearly documentary-like, Christy is the opposite: visceral, brutal, and emotionally charged. You’re not watching choreography. You’re watching someone fight for her life.
According to Time, the real Christy Martin was present as a consultant throughout production, ensuring authenticity – something that absolutely translates into the final result.
Once the adrenaline drops and the gloves come off, the film dives deeper. Some viewers may find the second half quieter, but for me, this is where Christy becomes powerful. The emotional weight grows. Sweeney leans into vulnerability without losing the raw physicality built earlier.
There is one moment where the acting feels slightly rough around the edges, but it works. Christy is breaking apart, and Sweeney lets herself fracture with her. Judging by the silence in the cinema, I wasn’t the only one taken off guard by how deeply the film hits.
A Knockout in Every Sense
Christy isn’t just a sports biopic—it’s a story about survival, control, identity, and reclaiming one’s life. Sidney Sweeney transforms herself completely, both inside and out. After this performance, no one should dare call her “just a sex symbol” again.
Rating: 10/10 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Drama / Sports / Bio
USA, 2025, 135 min
Director: David Michôd
Writers: David Michôd, Mirrah Foulkes
Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Ben Foster, Katy O’Brian, Merritt Wever, Ethan Embry, Tony Cavalero, Chad L. Coleman, Jess Gabor
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