Christy 2025 Review

Christy (2025) is an amazing film and a powerful portrait of one of the most important figures in women’s boxing. If anyone tells you Sydney Sweeney can’t act, I will show them this movie. She is the standout performance, and her work here proves just how much range she has developed. She captains this film with grit and vulnerability and gives what might be the best performance of her career so far.

The film tells the true story of Christy Martin, a young woman from a small coal mining town in West Virginia who unexpectedly finds her way into boxing and ends up becoming one of the most successful and well known female fighters in the world through the 90s and early 2000s. It charts her rise from an unlikely beginning to international fame in a sport dominated by men, and the personal battles she faced along the way. Her journey in the ring is dramatic and inspiring, but her life outside it is just as fraught with complexity and pain. This biopic does not shy away from the darker chapters of her life, including her abusive relationship with her trainer and husband Jim, played by Ben Foster, which nearly killed her and left deep emotional scars that she had to recover from. The storytelling here is unflinching when it needs to be, but also deeply motivating.

Sydney Sweeney’s transformation for this role has been widely discussed, and it is worth noting how committed she was to portraying Christy with authenticity. She trained intensely for months, gained significant weight and muscle to reflect the fighter’s build, and reportedly did many of her own boxing scenes rather than rely on stunt doubles. Her physicality adds a tangible grit to the film, making the boxing sequences feel real and visceral. It is clear she wanted to honour Christy Martin’s legacy and put in the work to capture not just the punches but the mindset of a fighter who broke barriers.

Ben Foster is effective as Jim Martin, Christy’s trainer and husband. He brings a magnetic intensity to the role that makes you understand how someone could be drawn to him but also how profoundly toxic he could be. While the relationship is brutal and emotional, Foster’s performance is layered in a way that avoids turning him into a two dimensional villain. Merritt Wever plays Christy’s mother Joyce with a quiet but solid presence that helps ground the family context of the story, and Ethan Embry as John Salters adds another layer of familial tension. Coleman Pedigo portrays Randy Salters and Jess Gabor appears as Rosie, rounding out a cast that brings real depth to all corners of Christy’s world.

Director David Michôd, known for thought provoking films like Animal Kingdom, brings a raw and grounded sensibility to this biopic. His approach feels respectful of the true story without shying away from hard moments. The pacing is generally strong, though the film does slow a little in the middle. It takes its time establishing Christy’s ascent and early struggles, which is important, but at times the narrative hangs a little longer on setup than it needs to before it picks up again with the more dramatic second half. Still, the emotional beats when they land are powerful and real.

The cinematography in Christy is outstanding, and what makes it even more special is that it’s shot by Australian cinematographer Germain McMicking (Top of the Lake, True Detective, The Secret Garden). It’s always a win seeing Aussie talent on major international productions, and McMicking brings a gritty, grounded beauty to Christy’s story that never feels overproduced. The boxing scenes are raw and tense, the domestic moments are intimate and quietly devastating, and the visual storytelling throughout keeps the emotional weight front and centre. As an indie Aussie publication, it’s exciting to see homegrown creatives helping shape powerful stories like this, it’s exactly the kind of work we want to champion.

What surprised me most was how much this film made me gasp. I knew some parts of Christy Martin’s story, but not the full extent of what she lived through, especially the violence she endured at home and how close she came to losing her life. The film does not treat these moments as sensationalised horror or melodrama, but it does not sugarcoat them either. It handles them with a kind of quiet gravity that makes them land even harder emotionally. Christy’s life was triumphant and tragic in equal measure, and the movie respects both sides of that story.

The emotional core of the film lies in Christy’s resilience. Her persistence and strength are what drive every major scene, and Sweeney embodies that fiercely. There are moments that sting, that make you ache for her, that make you admire her even more deeply. And there are moments that remind you how complicated real life is, especially for someone fighting multiple battles at once, professional expectations, personal identity, love, trauma, family, and survival.

What makes Christy stand out in a crowded field of sports biopics is how it never feels predictable. It acknowledges the familiar structure of a rise and fall narrative, but it fills it with complexity and honesty. You are never quite sure where the story will go next, and that uncertainty feels true to life rather than manufactured for dramatic effect. It is a film that stirs real feeling and makes you reflect on what it takes to fight your way back from the brink.

I give Christy an 8 out of 10 because it is inspiring, emotionally potent, beautifully made and elevated by an incredible central performance. It is not perfect, and the pacing could be a touch sharper in spots, but it is a worthy and moving tribute to a true pioneer whose story deserved to be told.