Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting the scripts behind the awards season’s most talked-about movies continues with the Toronto Film Festival-premiering Black Bear film Christy, written and directed by David Michôd, co-written by Mirrah Foulkes, with the story by Katherine Fugate.
Sydney Sweeney plays Christy Martin in the true, harrowing story and remarkable rise of the boxing champion. The film is a raw, gritty drama that tracks Martin’s life from a prodigious fighter in West Virginia to an international sports icon, ultimately morphing into a survival story against her most dangerous opponent: her own husband.
The screenplay begins in 1989, charting Christy’s trajectory as a hotheaded yet gifted fledgling boxer. Her path is set when she meets Jim Martin (Ben Foster), a trainer who immediately recognizes her ferocity. Under his guidance, she is set on a path to dominate women’s boxing, winning tournaments one after the other.
However, Christy’s personal life is fraught with obstacles. Her sexuality is a source of conflict for her family, and the pressure leads to the painful breakup with her girlfriend, Rosie (Jess Gabor), who succumbs to family expectations. Meanwhile, Jim — whose influence quickly turns manipulative — undermines Christy’s confidence, criticizing her image as “overweight and butch” and pushing her to adopt a more conventionally feminine appearance. The dynamic marks the beginning of a relationship that turns abusive, setting the stage for the deep-seated control Jim exerts over her life.
By 1995, the Martins are married and struggling financially, chasing the elusive promise of a meeting with boxing impresario Don King (Chad L. Coleman). Out of options, Christy is forced into a grim and desperate diversion: earning money by engaging in bizarre, pay-for-play role-playing fights with men in motels. The tide finally turns when she gets to meet with King after a scout witnesses her fighting. He signs her and successfully establishes her celebrity persona as “the coal miner’s daughter.” Christy is rocketed to fame, jetting off to Vegas to fight on pay-per-view — the first woman boxer to do so — and solidifying a winning streak that transforms her into a global sports phenomenon.
The final act shows Christy’s world spiraling into decline, marked by drug abuse, a downturn in her career, and the intensification of Jim’s abuse. The relationship collapses when Christy discovers Jim has been secretly stealing her earnings; showing private videotapes of her; and, finally, fabricating a planned fight she had been training for.
The core theme, as highlighted by Martin herself, is domestic violence and the systematic abuse of control. The abuse is shown as a strategic campaign to strip Christy of her autonomy, from the constant verbal manipulation about her appearance to the ultimate, murderous act of violence when she attempts to leave. The court monologue serves as the emotional peak of this theme, positioning Christy’s final public statement as her ultimate victory over Jim’s control.
A parallel, critical theme is the struggle for identity and self-acceptance in a restrictive environment. Raised in a small town, Christy was forced to “mask who she was, who she loved” and was chastised for her sexuality. The pressures from her parents and the manipulation by Jim to change her appearance and sexuality underscore the theme of conformity versus authenticity. The narrative of her career is intertwined with her journey to figure out who she truly is beneath the façade of the “coal miner’s daughter” persona.
The creative team explored the contrast between Christy’s public toughness and her private emotional state. Sweeney highlighted the challenge of balancing Christy’s “toughness and her vulnerability,” noting that her strength often came from “masking deep pain.” The filmmakers aimed to show that strength “isn’t always visible, and how survival takes on so many forms.”
Read the screenplay below.
