Can Sydney Sweeney Break Into the Best Actress Oscar Race?

There’s familiar, there’s formulaic, and then there’s Christy.

Despite being the true story of Christy Martin, the pioneering female boxer whose accomplishments include being represented by Don King and making the cover of Sports Illustrated, and who later survived a near-fatal attack by her husband, David Michôd’s biopic transforms its inspiring tale into the stuff of cinematic clichés.

As the profane and resolute pugilist, Sydney Sweeney gives a believable performance that almost transcends her role’s derivativeness. This manipulative hybrid of Rocky, Million Dollar Baby, and Monster, however, is so rote that even an A.I. wouldn’t dare try to pass it off as original.

Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, Christy stitches together a Little Engine That Could underdog