Christy

By turns devastating and triumphant, the latest from Australian auteur David Michôd (Animal Kingdom) chronicles the astonishing life of pioneering women’s boxer Christy Martin. Featuring career-best performances from Sydney Sweeney (TIFF ’24’s Eden) and Ben Foster (TIFF ’24’s Sharp Corner), Christy is a fierce tale of self-actualization in the face of terrifying adversity.

Born in West Virginia — her nickname, “Coal Miner's Daughter,” derives from her father's profession — Christy (Sweeney) excelled at sports and attended college on a basketball scholarship. In the late 1980s, she starts fighting in — and winning — “Toughwoman” contests before beginning training with boxing coach Jim Martin (Foster) and embarking on what will prove to be a hugely successful career in a still-nascent sport.

Despite a 25-year age difference, Christy and Jim marry, intensifying a codependency exacerbated by drug use, financial malfeasance, and acts of physical and psychological abuse. Just as Christy is making historic strides in her sport, she's forced to contend with a horrendous private life — climaxing in an act that nearly kills her.

Written by Michôd and Mirrah Foulkes, Christy doesn't shy away from the harsh side of its subject's story, but neither does it sensationalize brutality. Dealing with themes of misogyny, domestic violence, and sexual identity, the film does justice to Christy's journey by being frank about the obstacles she overcame.

Foster exposes the darkness driving the man who was first Christy’s champion and then her tormenter, but the heart of this film lies with Sweeney, who disappears into this role of a woman who confronted many demons as she fought her way to the top.

ROBYN CITIZEN

Content advisory: domestic violence, course language, violence