Christy opens with a prologue that provides the audience of a brief glimpse of Christy Martin fighting another female boxer during boxing match with the song "Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears playing over the soundtrack before flashing back to 1989 when she's now living with her conservative mother, Joyce (Merritt Wever), and father, John (Ethan Embry). She has a girlfriend, Rosie (Jess Gabor), whom she's romantically involved with despite the disapproval of her parents. James (Ben Foster), a boxing coach, convinces her to let him train her and to enter her in boxing competitions. He convinces her to marry him, but, eventually, he physically abuses her, and she discovers that he's been financially abusing her as well.

      Writer/director David Michôd and his co-writer, Mirrah Foulkes, have made a captivating, gritty and heartfelt biopic. It's more than just the story of a boxer's rise-to-fame; it's about how she stood up for herself, followed her dreams, followed her heart, and conquered her adversities. As Pablo Neruda once wisely observed, "They can cut all of the flowers, but they can't stop the spring from coming." Christy goes through a lot emotionally, psychologically and physically, but she chooses not to give up. In one of the film's most heartbreaking scenes, Christy's mother invalidates her feelings and sides with her husband when she confides in her that he's abusing her. Christy is very strong for putting up with her narcissistic mother, although she should've cut off contact with her completely. She's lucky to have a girlfriend who cares about her, and even Lisa (Katy O'Brian), her boxing opponent, turns out to be kind, empathetic and compassionate toward her after all.

      Sydney Sweeney gives one of the best performances of her career as Christy. Her performance is imbued with raw energy and genuine poignancy as she sinks her teeth into the role with conviction. At 2 hours and 15 minutes, Christy is a total knockout. It opens in theaters nationwide via Black Bear Pictures. It would be a great double feature with Queen of the Ring, an empowering sports drama about Mildred Burke, a professional wrestler who's kindred spirits with Christy Martin.