Sydney Sweeney Has a Queer Crowdpleaser at TIFF

"If the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival only gives us one thing this year, it will be an excuse to talk about Sydney Sweeney and not have to mention jeans. The actress and for-some-reason political lightning rod delivers her best film performance to date in Christy, the true-life story of boxer Christy Martin (née Salters); she had the crowd in the palm of her hand at the film's world premiere."

"The film is a down-the-center-lane portrayal of Salters' ride to fame as a pioneer female boxer, whose massive success masked years of abuse at the hands of her husband and trainer Jim Martin (an initially unrecognizable Ben Foster), who eventually tried to kill her. But as typical a sports biopic as this is, it also offers Sweeney an ideal opportunity to level up as an actress."

"Christy, directed by David Michod,is at its most interesting when it occasionally steps outside the conventions of a biopic and interrogates the issues of sexuality and femininity in the backdrop of Christy's story. Jim pressures Christy to dress and behave more stereotypically feminine (so much pink), no matter how it clashes with her pugnacious athleticism. Christy, meanwhile, is a trash talker who often jabs at her opponents for being masculine "dykes," though in reality queer relationships help shape her story, as they did in real life."

Sydney Sweeney gives a career-best performance as boxer Christy Martin, commanding the audience at the film's world premiere. The film charts Salters' rise as a pioneering female boxer whose public success concealed years of abuse by her husband and trainer Jim Martin, portrayed by Ben Foster. Direction by David Michod leans on conventional sports-biopic beats while occasionally interrogating sexuality and femininity. Jim pressures Christy toward stereotypical femininity, clashing with her athletic ferocity. Queer relationships, including a teenage girlfriend played by Jess Gabor, inform Christy's personal life, and rival Lisa Holewyne, played by Katy O'Brian, intersects meaningfully with Christy's story.

Read at Vulture