By Black Bear Pictures,Casey Loving
Copyright thewrap
Sydney Sweeney is entering the ring.
Soon after its Toronto International Film Festival debut, a first look at Sweeney’s boxing biopic “Christy” was released by Black Bear Pictures on Thursday. The trailer sees Sweeney take on the role of Christy Martin, the titular professional boxer who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020.
“I think I found my thing,” Sweeney’s boxer says in the trailer. “I bet most people go their entire lives and they don’t even know what their thing is.”
The trailer opens t0 Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen” over invigorating sequences of Sweeney boxing her way to glory. The song provides an upbeat backdrop to clips of Martin’s success, an upward trajectory that leads her to a championship belt. Halfway through the trailer, however, the song starts to fade, giving way to a far more dramatic score. At the same time, images of Martin’s success are replaced by the abuse she faced — primarily, from her husband/trainer, James V. Martin, played by Ben Foster.
David Michôd directed “Christy,” working with a screenplay he wrote with Katherine Fugate and Mirrah Foulkes. This will be Michôd’s first feature effort since the 2019 Timothée Chalamet-starring historical epic “The King.”
Alongside Sweeney and Foster, Chad L. Coleman stars in the film as boxing promoter Don King. Merritt Wever, fresh off her Emmys win for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role on “Severance,” plays Christy’s mother alongside Ethan Embry, who plays her father. Katy O’Brian, who has been making steady appearances in films like “Love Lies Bleeding,” “Twisters” and “Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning,” plays boxing rival Lisa Holewyne.
“Christy” had its world premiere at TIFF on Sept. 5, screening in the Special Presentations section. The film opened to mixed reactions, currently sitting at 61% on Rotten Tomatoes with 31 reviews. While some have criticized the sports biopic for being standard and traditional, others have laid awards-worthy praise at Sweeney’s feet.
“Christy” releases in theaters Nov. 7.
