'Christy' review: Jaw-dropping true story becomes rock-solid biopic starring Sydney Sweeney

Light pink shorts — that’s what Christy Martin wears into the ring during the 1990s. It’s a bit of a joke, because the foulmouthed, hammer-fisted Christy is no one’s idea of a traditional girl. She’s also gay, and so closeted that she marries her trainer, Jim Martin. Less of a joke is the pink gun he points at her when she tries to leave him.

"Christy," starring Sydney Sweeney in the title role and Ben Foster as Jim, tells two familiar stories: the talented woman who falls prey to a controlling man, and the gay star who finds the courage to come out. Helping the movie avoid cliche are its two leads, turning in two different but complementary performances. "Christy" also benefits from an intelligent script by Mirrah Foulkes and director David Michôd (2010’s "Animal Kingdom") that lets its remarkable story of survival unfold naturally.

Christy grew up in Mullens, West Virginia, where gym-class taunts of "lesbian" had to be answered with a right hook — even if you were one. We meet Christy as an aimless young woman whose frisky romance with Rosie (Jess Gabor) is about as serious as her entry into a local Toughman Competition. There, however, Christy flattens her opponent, wins 300 bucks and catches the eye of a promoter who begins booking her into proper fights.

After her latest bout, Christy tells Rosie over the phone: "I think I found my thing."

Sweeney, the waifish star of "Euphoria," "The White Lotus" and those controversial ads for American Eagle jeans, may seem an unlikely candidate to play a boxer. But she brings just the right combination of innocence, grit and fury to the role. Sweeney’s Christy basically haymakers her way through this movie, stopping only occasionally to flash a bright smile, as she does to boxing legend Don King (a spot on Chad L. Coleman).

Foster’s Jim, by contrast, is all footwork. Meeting Christy, he’s initially disdainful but intrigued by her talent. His marriage proposal comes out of nowhere. As Christy’s career soars and his managerial skills crumble, Jim turns angry, then physical. With just the tiniest looks and gestures, Foster radiates a chilling combination of self-pity and murderous rage.

The film’s other villain is Joyce Salters, Christy’s judgmental and repressive mother, played by an excellent Merritt Wever ("Nurse Jackie"). In boxing, Christy likely found a way to silence the voice of disapproval that she likely first heard from her mother. "In there, it’s quiet," Christy says of the ring. "And it’s mine."

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com