Sydney Sweeney‘s new boxing drama Christy has largely proved a flop with critics following its premiere.
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The new biopic follows the story of boxer Christy Martin, focusing on her career as one of the top female boxers of the ’90s and ’00s before enduring and surviving domestic violence at the hands of her husband and trainer, James (Ben Foster).
The film has just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and has so far drawn a very mixed reception from critics.
The Guardian called it a “cliched boxing biopic”, with Benjamin Lee writing: “As perfectly timed as this narrative might be, Christy just isn’t nearly good enough, a by-the-numbers slog that fails to prove Sweeney’s status as a one to watch.”
“A contradiction at the heart of Christy is that Sweeney is the main reason anyone is paying attention to the project, but her own high-profile celebrity makes it difficult to believe her as the character,” the BBC‘s Caryn James added. “Can she ever escape the real-life chatter around her?”
Others had praise for Sweeney, however, even if they felt that the film itself was more underwhelming.
“Be it in a smile in the ring or an impassioned speech, we feel the nuances in her performance that the film itself is often lacking,” wrote TheWrap‘s Chase Hutchinson. “Even when the experience writ large threatens to dull her spark, Sweeney never lets it die out.”
ScreenRant suggested that while Sweeney “gives a strong performance”, she “deserved a better showcase for her talents”, while The Daily Beast said she gives a “believable performance that almost transcends her role’s derivativeness”.
However, critic Nick Schager further said the film is “so rote that even an A.I. wouldn’t dare try to pass it off as original”.
“With struggles in film craft and an overly ambitious cast seemingly working on different levels and tones, Christy is never able to land its emotional punches,” wrote Pajiba‘s Lindsay Traves.
In another scathing review, The Film Stage‘s Ethan Vestby wrote: “Both the distributor and actress seem to have similarly malignant aims for the medium of cinema in making this.”
It wasn’t all bad though, with Rolling Stone‘s David Fear suggesting it was “a decent movie” and “a way better proof-of-concept regarding Sweeney’s willingness to go the distance for a project”.
“It doesn’t pull punches, even if that ultimately leaves a different kind of mark on its audience,” added IndieWire‘s Kate Erbland.
Christy comes from director and co-writer David Michôd, and also features performances by Merritt Wever, Katy O’Brian and Ethan Embry.
Sweeney recently shed light on her transformation for the film, which saw her gain 30 pounds to prepare for the role.
