Plot: What’s it about?
I have to give credit to Sydney Sweeney. When you’re Hollywood’s “it” girl (as of this writing, anyway. I might revisit this in a few years only to say “who?”) there’s a lot of pressure to perform and deliver. Sweeney made her mark on TV’s Euphoria, but has been a working actress since the early 2010’s. Some people don’t realize that these stars didn’t emerge out of the clear, blue sky. But to address the elephant in the room, we all know why Sweeney has attracted a lot of attention as of late – her figure. She’s a moderately attractive woman who’s been “blessed” with large, natural breasts. And evidently there are more people out there like me than we knew, because that’s all it took for me. Ok, maybe not. Still, with roles in films like Anyone But You, Immaculate and The Housemaid she took a step back and shed her traditional looks for something…different. Based on a true story, Christy examines the world of female boxing and, as suspected, there’s more to it than meets the eye.
We meet Christy (Sydney Sweeney), a teen living in rural West Virginia with her mother, Joyce (Merritt Wever) and father, John (Ethan Embry). They’re not too thrilled that their daughter is attracted to girls. But when Christy wins a local fight, she receives an offer to work with a professional trainer, Jim (Ben Foster). He’s somewhat of a misogynist and on top of that, isn’t too fond of homosexual women. That’s two strikes against Christy. However, her resilience shows when she wins several bouts that leads Jim to alter his perspective. She could potentially make a lot of money for him and when Don King (Chad Coleman) becomes involved, things get real. There’s more to it, of course, as with most sports movies there’s an element going on outside the ring with Christy and Jim’s relationship as well as Christy dealing with her sexuality. It’s how all of these intertwine that makes Christy a rewarding experience.
The film was mismarketed. There’s no two ways about it. Only earning a scant $1.3 million on its opening weekend, it faded into relative obscurity in record time. Though the performances are great, notably Ben Foster as Jim, it wasn’t enough to save the film financially nor garner any major award nominations. That’s a shame. Sweeney is convincing in the role of Christy as well, shedding her movies tar looks for her role. I was reminded of another sports film that was torn from the headlines with I, Tonya. That followed the ups and downs of Olympian Tonya Harding. Coincidentally, her manager also took advantage of her. I’m sending a theme. If you’re looking for a double feature (or “one-two punch” might be more fitting), these would fit the bill nicely. As it stands, there’s more than meets the eye with this on. It’s worth a look.
Video: How’s it look?
Being a new-to-the-format film released by a major studio has its advantages. Namely, the 2.39:1 AVC HD encode gives us a crystal clear picture which has some pros and cons. The boxing scenes are fairly brutal, not the in the violence sense, but rather how they’re shot and how that translates to the overall look. The color palette used is muted (I guess blue collar films that took place in the 90’s were always under a cloudy sky), though detail is razor sharp. This isn’t the glitzy and glamorous look that we’ve come to see Sweeney in, but it’s more of an accurate depiction of her life and the theme of the film.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The Dolby TrueHD mix does pack a punch (sorry, couldn’t resist) at times, though as is the case with most sports movies – most of the action takes place outside the ring. Vocals are sharp and crisp, with ambient surrounds being used effectively. The film is dialogue-driven, as we might expect and the soundtrack does an ample job of conveying all the action. In short, it’s a great-sounding mix that’s sure to please.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Nothing here. The supplements have been KO’d (most likely due to poor box office performance).
The Bottom Line
A financial flop when it was released, Christy‘s box office isn’t indicative of the caliber of film it truly is. I was captivated by some of the performances, in particular Foster and Sweeney. The featureless Blu-ray looks and sounds good, so hopefully this will find a wider audience on the home video market.
