This review was made possible by Popped attending a Press and Industry screening for Christy at the 69th London Film Festival.
David Michôd’s Christy premiered at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, where it received warm first reactions. Much of the praise centred around Sydney Sweeney’s powerhouse performance, sparking early award conversations.
Christy follows the real-life story of female boxer Christy Martin (Sydney Sweeney) before her fame; tracing her discovery of boxing, and her relationship with trainer Jim Martin (Ben Foster), who soon becomes both her manager and husband. We are taken through decades of Christy’s life, as it is slowly revealed that Christy’s battles loom much larger outside of the boxing ring.
A Story Beyond the Ring
Although Christy presents itself as a boxing film, and initially begins as a conventional sports story, it is a brutal and disturbing exploration of domestic violence, homophobia, misogyny, loneliness, and identity. Christy was a boxer, and it’s an important aspect in her life – it’s how she met her coach and husband, but it’s a film that becomes so much more than a conventional sports drama. Boxing provides the setting, and grounds us in Christy’s world, but it’s never just a film about boxing. Despite being a trailblazer in the world of women’s boxing, it’s her personal struggles outside of the boxing ring that speak the loudest.
Ben Foster and Sydney Sweeney deliver two exceptional and transformative lead performances. Foster becomes unrecognisable as Jim Martin, portraying a man of cruelty, misogyny and controlling behaviour. This film also exposes the abhorrent levels of homophobia that runs through both Christy’s mother Joyce, (Merritt Weever) and Jim. Jim weaponizes Christy’s sexuality to manipulate her, and her entire family. They’re all well aware of Christy’s sexuality, but Jim viciously uses the fear and shame that she holds about her own sexuality, against her. Jim led Christy into accepting his advances, marriage proposal, and everything else that came along with him.
Christy’s mother, too, had a huge involvement in Christy’s struggles, as she would rather see her daughter be with a much older, abusive man than have her daughter be with a woman. Every part of Christy’s identity is monitored and picked apart by both Jim and Joyce – her appearance, clothing, and behaviour. Christy does not shy away from the harsh realities of misogyny, and it’s through these dynamics that the film really underscores the dangers of homophobia.
Shocking To Its Core
Despite the warning signs with Jim Martin being clear as day, the film still shocks you to your core, leaving audiences shaken with absolute horror and fear. Michôd directs and portrays Christy’s abuse in a way that’s extremely thought-provoking. We are not shown the lead-up to Christy and Jim first sleeping together, or any real affection, during their relationship. It becomes clear that this is not a relationship that Christy is 100% comfortable with. We see the results of Jim’s manipulation, but never the full picture until it slowly builds, and we unravel more and more of their relationship.
The first time Christy is physically abused by Jim, it is not visually shown on screen, but instead depicted through the sound design. Which again, as the story unfolds, we’re able to draw a fuller picture of his abuse. Jim carries his abusive nature to their gym, inside the boxing ring – intimidating her and sending a message that he can and will overpower her when he wants to. He’s no longer just tormenting her in their home, but also mistreating her in public, in front of the other trainers. This escalates until the audience is confronted with the full length of Jim’s violence and brutality. Audiences have no choice but to observe the complete catastrophe that Jim has caused.
By the end of the film, it becomes painfully clear that there were many moments at which this could have ended – when someone could have intervened. It did not need to go as far as it did, but Joyce’s homophobia led her daughter to reach that stage, and the silence from everyone around her allowed the abuse to escalate as far as it did.
There’s a line that encapsulates the film’s central message. In an exchange, Christy tells her mother that she may as well have pulled the trigger, on her, which rings entirely true. Silence is just as dangerous as those who directly do the damage. Silence is complicit. Throughout the film, which spans decades, Christy is shown as not truly having someone who’s consistently in her corner. Her loneliness and isolation are gut-wrenching features to behold and it’s an absolute miracle that Christy lived to see another day to share her story. A story, many women unfortunately know too well.
The Structural Weaknesses of ‘Christy’
Christy has a tight script, with many set-ups and payoffs; however, the biggest issues reside in the time jumps. While there is a necessity to have time jumps as Christy’s story rolls through multiple decades, it unfortunately disrupts the emotional continuity. There are subplots and smaller narratives that are set up during one segment and then completely left open and unfulfilled as the story jumps to another time period, resulting in many moments of confusion among audiences.
The decision to portray the supporting characters around Christy being affected and saddened by her situation, only to then have very little change, years later, and still have them react the exact same way, not only cheapens the sense of time but it also forms a small barrier between the audience and the supporting characters, making it difficult for the audience to view them positively. The supporting characters appear just as complicit; however, the film does not attempt to delve into this any further. If it did, it could’ve been another impactful topic to explore.
Ultimately, while the film allows itself to be brutal and unsettling, mirroring the real-life situation, the film also plays the narrative too safe, and fails to really critique the perils of silence, lack of intervention, grooming, and exploitation.
‘Christy’ – Final Thoughts
All in all, Christy is a powerful piece focused on the survival of a woman. For those unaware of the real-life Christy before viewing the film, this may come as a shock.
Christy releases in theaters on November 7. Check out the trailer below:
The Review
Christy
All in all, Christy is a powerful piece focused on the survival of a woman. For those unaware of the real-life Christy before viewing the film, this may come as a shock.
