Is it possible for Sydney Sweeney to rebrand herself as a serious actor with ‘Christy’?
The movie on a trailbreaking woman boxer has generated Oscar buzz. However, voters must put aside a year of cultural hot spots that have been distracting.
Some actors approach their jobs with pinpoint accuracy. However, the group guiding Sydney Sweeney has taken a blunderbuss-like, scattershot strategy.
Over the past year, the 27-year-old has been a constant source of news, causing the internet debate machine to churn continuously. Her recent achievements include selling 5,000 bars of soap infused with, as well as appearing in an American Eagle commercial that was criticized for supporting eugenics. She dated Scooter Braun, the contentious music manager, and her bath water sparked discussion about her political views.
The fact that Sweeney is a charismatic and talented performer who once received two Emmy nominations in the field is sometimes overshadowed by her prominence as a pop cultural flashpoint. for “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus” in the same year. However, following her huge success in “Anyone but You” with the dismal “Madame,” she has lately turned to a flood-the-zone approach with her acting career as well. the Apple TV movie “Echo Valley,” which you didn’t realize existed until this paragraph, and the two consecutive box office failures “Eden” and “Americana” on the “Web.”
Sweeney undoubtedly remains one of the most well-known young women in the world, but she has a difficult road ahead of her if she wants to be viewed more as an actor than a celebrity. Fortunately, there is cause for optimism: Sweeney stars in the new movie “Christy,” which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday. the physically changing part of being Christy Martin, the professional boxer. The premiere’s overwhelming response indicates that Sweeney may be a contender this year for an Oscar. However, is a successful career rebrand now possible?
In the film, which is directed by David Michôd (“Animal Kingdom”), Christy starts out as a young West Virginian who finds herself with an unexpected talent for combat: Christy is sometimes taken aback by her own strength whenever she defeats an opponent in the ring. “I think I found my thing,” she tells her girlfriend (Jess Gabor), but she has turned away from her lesbian connection in order to succeed in the sport. and into the trainer Jim Martin’s (Ben Foster) manipulative grasp, who offers marriage.
Jim pushes Christy to wear pink, molds her into a submissive spouse, and cuts, saying, “No one wants to see a butch girl fight.” her isolation from her loved ones and friends. Jim makes sure that everything Christy gains is under his control, even as she rises to become the best female boxer in the world while under his thumb. He manipulates and belittles Christy as she tries to muster the nerve to leave him, finally unleashing unexpected violence.
The movie had a favorable reception at its Toronto debut because Sweeney’s screen presence was so compassionate, despite the fact that it may have seemed like a gloomy slog. As Christy delivered her first strike, the audience erupted in applause; as her connection with Jim became abusive, they gasped; and they even responded to the Christy’s battles with her frighteningly homophobic mother (Merritt Wever) are shown on the screen. In fact, it’s the current front-runner for the People’s Choice Award, which is voted on by festival attendees in Toronto and usually demonstrates that a movie is well-liked. has the populist clout to have a successful awards season run.
However, will Sweeney be able to rise above all of her controversies and establish herself as a genuine candidate for the title of best actress? She is definitely drawing from the correct playbook: Just as Charlize Theron (“Monster”) and Margot Robbie (“I, Tonya”) demonstrated they were more than simply attractive faces. Sweeney has immersed herself in this de-glammed performance by playing real-life women who have experienced hardship. She has gained 30 pounds of muscle and spent months working on it. engage in weight and combat training to become a believable pugilist.
Nevertheless, it’s difficult to rebrand as a serious actress when your offscreen behavior generates so much buzz that even the president feels compelled to comment. Black Bear, an innovative distributor, will release “Christy” on November 7 and is planning a big awards push for Sweeney, but only if she Oscar voters may reject her as an amateur and favor established figures such as Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Stone if she is unable to reduce and be more selective about her career path.
However, Sweeney and her crew can utilize the obvious story at hand. Christy Salters, the real-life woman Sweeney portrays, joined a weeping Sweeney on stage in Toronto, where she received a standing ovation. Martin), who lauded the strength of her metamorphosis.
“She got to be this totally different person that none of you expected,” Salters stated. She isn’t the beautiful sexy Sydney. In this film, Christy is portrayed as a strong, robust person, and I find it to be fantastic.
