The Fire Inside, 2024.
Directed by Rachel Morrison.
Starring Ryan Destiny, Brian Tyree Henry, Oluniké Adeliyi, Jazmin Headley, Kylee D. Allen, Lanette Ware, De’Adre Aziza, Adam Clark, Jessica Grossi, Michael Brown, Tyrone Benskin, Idrissa Sanogo, Teanna Weir, Chrystian Buddington, Maurice Wayne Anglin, Shechinah Mpumlwana, Nendia Lewars, Taytem Douglas, Sekhai Smith, Chidubem Rafael Echendu, Jason Weinberg, Sarah Allen, Richard Lewis, Tiandria Taylor, Natasha Spence, Christine Cleary, Laura Vuculescu, and Melissa Karagianis.
SYNOPSIS:
The story of Claressa ‘T-Rex’ Shields, a boxer from Flint, Michigan who trained to become the first woman in her country’s history to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport.
Anyone who reads the above synopsis for Oscar-nominated cinematography turned director Rachel Morrison’s The Fire Inside – which somewhat accurately reads as a fairly generic inspirational sports drama – might be shocked to learn that the script comes from Moonlight‘s Barry Jenkins (although maybe not too surprised given that he regularly collaborates with the DP and is also helming Disney’s upcoming Mufasa.)
Thankfully, Barry Jenkins is much more interested in questions of purpose vs. reward and gender norms when it comes to women’s boxing, the Olympics and what gold medals can (or don’t) bring, and the struggle to land financially lucrative endorsement deals when the would-be associated sport eschews feminine beauty for physicality. In other words, The Fire Inside dramatically comes to life the moment the film is done with the standard underdog road to glory story, which is only roughly halfway into the film.
Perhaps more fortunately, it has Brian Tyree Henry throughout much of that more familiar first half, oozing raw naturalism even when playing a clichéd character such as a generous and sacrificial boxing coach who sees glimpses of his unrealized potential in his most promising students.
Jason Crutchfield is not coaching a boy, though. He is coaching 16-year-old Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, an unapologetic bully who loves fighting and would go on to be the first woman boxer to bring home a gold medal for the United States of America. It’s not the most media or viewership-friendly response and one that gets her in hot water from her agent on more than one occasion, told that to find any semblance of popularity or wealth as a woman athlete, she must embrace things like makeup and more beautified fashion that she couldn’t possibly care less about. Considering that her family is from Flint, Michigan, and is poor, she reluctantly plays along with this, shedding a part of her true self.
More fascinatingly, Claressa Shields is played by Ryan Destiny (and Jazmin Headley in a childhood prologue acquainting viewers with her living circumstances and questionable guardianship, also expressing her interest in boxing), who is listed as a singer and model while also impressing in this physically demanding role that seems to contradict her real-life personality. Perhaps the similarities come through in that they are both fiercely independent individuals burning with a desire to accomplish their goals. If nothing else, it’s intriguing to contemplate when the early stretch is going through the usual motions of discovered potential, training, and the build-up to a big match (again, which is pleasantly not the film’s culmination.)
There is also a hefty amount of family drama and confessed trauma (the latter of which provides some insight into her inner anger and desire to punch people) that is a combination of rushed through and underdeveloped. In one scene, Claressa decks one of her mom’s (Olunike Adeliyi) creepy party guests, which causes a blowup argument, leading to her being given a guest room in her coach’s home, but randomly on good terms after winning the Olympic gold medal. Claressa’s recently released father from prison appears and feels like an afterthought. Meanwhile, Claressa internally wrestles with whether or not she is meant to continue boxing or settle into a married family life with her supportive (even if he takes sparring sessions as an opportunity to be flirtatious rather than serious) boyfriend.
One might also wonder why Claressa wouldn’t want to keep boxing after winning an Olympic gold medal. Well, that’s the quietly enraging part of the narrative and the more humanist, compelling stretch. Whether it’s the general public and big corporation’s unfavorable perspective of woman’s boxing, internalized racism, or sexism (she is offered an insultingly low stipend to abandon siblings who need her, all to participate in the Olympics again even though it might once again fail to create some ripple effect that makes her family’s life more financially stable), or casually looking down on her impoverished hometown, there is much to weigh as Claressa’s passion is sucked dry. She’s not a selfish, greedy person or irrationally entitled. Even if one loves doing something that requires as much dedication as competing in the Olympics, at the end of the day, the end result probably has to be for more than a love of the game.
While the boxing sequences aren’t noteworthy, Rachel Morrison successfully uses her instincts and talents as a cinematographer to convey character mood through color palettes. Working with Barry Jenkins, she also takes a measured approach to some of the clichéd family drama, keeping it from falling into overblown theatrics. The Fire Inside is still too familiar for its good, but this is a sports biopic with a slight structural twist that is refreshing and elevated by a terrific ensemble.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at [email protected]
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