Sweeney's ‘Christy’ fails to make a lasting impression

FOR all those wondering: Sydney Sweeney gives a perfectly competent performance in the new sports drama Christy.

- SONIA RAO

SYDNEY Sweeney in a scene from Christy.

(The Washington Post)

She believably portrays real-life figure Christy Martin, a West Virginian who overcame adversity to become one of the most well-known female boxers of the 1990s.

Heartbreak spills from Sweeney's eyes as Christy suppresses her lesbian identity to marry Jim Martin (Ben Foster), a man twice her age who serves as her manager and coach. The actress's body language shrinks as Jim abuses Christy throughout their 19-year marriage, during which she channels her frustration into landing punches.

Sweeney is good as Christy but not “great”, in part because director David Michôd (War Machine, The King) doesn't offer her material that’s sufficiently nuanced.

The film - which Michôd co-wrote with Mirrah Foulkes, based on a story by Katherine Fugate - is a run-of-the-mill biopic that suffers from its inability to convey what truly sets Christy’s narrative apart from the rest.