Sydney Sweeney seems to be everywhere these days, with several projects on the 2025 movie calendar, not to mention the highly anticipated Euphoria Season 3. Some are thinking she might even ride this wave all the way to the Academy Awards with her new sports biopic Christy, which depicts the rise of boxer Christy Martin. Critics saw the movie ahead of its release, and while some think Sweeney delivers a “knockout” Oscar-worthy performance, others aren’t convinced.
Christy takes audiences through a pivotal stretch of Christy Martin’s life and career, during which she lived closeted and in an abusive marriage. Ben Foster co-stars as her coach and husband Jim Martin. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle lauds Sydney Sweeney for giving “the knockout performance of her career,” writing:
Following the pattern that we’ve seen in Eden, Immaculate and Echo Valley, Sweeney takes on a role that is without a shred of glamour and that brings her to the depths of anguish and desperation. Sweeney is no boring, vain starlet. Sis a go-for-broke screen powerhouse, gradually coming into focus from film to film. … Sweeney’s earnest depiction of Christy’s willingness to work hard, transcend her background and come into her best self is what drives the film.
Jocelyn Noveck of the AP also praises Sydney Sweeney’s “ferocious commitment” in the upcoming LGBTQ+ movie, giving it 2.5 stars out of 4. Christy starts out as a standard sports biopic, with Martin becoming a trailblazer for women in boxing, but the third act shifts to focus on the horrific abuse she suffered and barely survived. Noveck continues:
The mashup of genres may feel a bit tonally rough, but it ultimately works, not least because of its unifying factor: Sweeney, who imbues her no-holds-barred portrayal of Martin with both sweetness and rage, with brio and real vulnerability. The actor’s background in MMA fighting was clearly essential for the role, for which she bulked up considerably (a la De Niro in Raging Bull) and trained extensively.
Matt Fowler of IGN rates it a “Good” 7 out of 10, saying he would have liked the third act to focus more on Christy Martin’s life as a survivor of abuse, rather than on Jim Martin’s “nastiness.” Sweeney’s name will likely be on awards ballots, Fowler says, writing:
Christy is an actor's dream, and Sydney Sweeney will find herself in catbird seat come awards season despite the film feeling like a chore at times. It does nothing notably different from other biographies, breaking no molds, offering nothing new except a look into the hardscrabble life of trailblazing boxer and her brush with death. ... Sweeney, to her credit, is quite excellent though and it's because of her that any forward momentum is found within the film.
Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com agrees Sydney Sweeney gives her all, as she meets both the physical and emotional challenges of her character. Ultimately, though, she can’t save the otherwise-by-the-book sports underdog story. Lemire rates the movie 2 out of 4 stars and says:
Director David Michôd’s film hits all the beats you’d expect as it follows Martin’s ascent to boxing greatness. There are training montages and needle drops, victories and setbacks, doubters and champions. All of it is done capably but without much panache; worst of all, the boxing sequences feel rudimentary, lacking both artistry and savagery. Only in the film’s harrowing third act do we see the kind of startling storytelling Michôd has made his name with in films like Animal Kingdom.
Kristy Puchko of Mashable, meanwhile, isn’t buying this performance as Oscar-worthy. Sydney Sweeney’s Southern accent comes and goes, and she can’t throw a convincing punch, Puchko says. The actor’s range doesn’t reach where Christy needs it to, but she’s not fully to blame. The critic continues:
Despite the premiere buzz, Christy is not the Oscar contender that Sweeney, who also produced the film, seems to have swung for. Its script is a mess, creating clumsy archetypes and hitting on Lifetime movie cliches with no self-awareness. Its ensemble cast, while committed, cannot agree on a common tone.
The movie holds an overall 66% Rotten Tomatoes score, so it’s clear that there are some issues with Christy. The big question is whether or not Sydney Sweeney’s transformative performance is enough to overshadow the film’s other shortcomings.
We don’t have to wait any longer to find out! Christy is in theaters as of Friday, November 7.
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