‘The Fire Inside’ Review: Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree Henry Give Knockout Performances in Barry Jenkins-Penned Boxing Drama
Adding several fresh pages to the inspirational sports film playbook, The Fire Inside is an immersive, pull-no-punches dramatic account of the ascendancy of Claressa Shields, the Flint, Michigan, Black teen who would become the only American boxer, male or female, in the history of the sport to win back-to-back gold medals at the Olympic Games.
Shields was all of 11 years old when she first stepped into the Berston Field House, where former boxer Jason Crutchfield volunteered as a youth trainer, refusing to abide by the gym’s “no girls allowed” policy.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
In more pedestrian hands, her story might easily have emerged as standard triumph-over-adversity fare, but in this case, the assembled talent brings their A-game, yielding results that transcend convention at every turn.
It begins with a nuanced, laser-focused script by filmmaker Barry Jenkins (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk), who, rather than feeling the need to reinvent the wheel, gives it some unexpected directions to travel. And Rachel Morrison, in her directorial debut, captures characters in the same, unapologetically intimate light as did her cinematography on such films as Mudbound and Black Panther.
Obviously most crucial is the casting of the two central characters, and while the always effective Brian Tyree Henry inhabits the role of Crutchfield with a soulful passion, it is young TV actress Ryan Destiny who burns brightest, delivering a deeply felt, fiercely spirited performance as Shields.
Following a Toronto International Film Festival world premiere, their collective contributions have the potential to reap awards accolades ahead of the picture’s release under the Amazon MGM Studios banner, opening wide on Christmas Day.
For Destiny’s Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (her nickname referred to her short but powerful arms), boxing represents more than just empowerment — it also offers the possibility of one day being able to win enough fights to fill that empty fridge in the neglected home she shares with her combative mother and two siblings. Her challenging domestic situation is neatly contrasted with that of Henry’s Crutchfield, a dedicated family man who works as a cable installer when not putting young hopefuls through their paces. The pair form a nurturing partnership.
Propelled by a ferocious determination, Ressa makes it to the U.S. Olympic trials in Shanghai, where she qualifies for the 2012 London Olympics and, at the tender age of 17, goes on to take home the gold medal.
Now, usually with these underdog movies, this would be where they cue the triumphant fanfare and run photographs of the real-life counterparts over the closing credits. But Jenkins’ script isn’t done yet, opting to take a more sobering detour. After the glow of London begins wearing off, and Ressa soon realizes that those Nike and Wheaties endorsements won’t be materializing (as Crutchfield is informed by an agent, America wants to see its female athletes playing beach volleyball, not beating on somebody’s potential sister or daughter), she finds herself back in Flint facing some cold, hard realities regarding the American dream.
“Does what I did even count?” she wonders, in the face of dashed expectations from her family and her hometown.
She’ll eventually arrive at the sort of ending to which audiences are more accustomed, but not before the film makes some pointed socioeconomic observations regarding life in places like Flint and the promise they usually hold for people like Claressa.
As its restless protagonist navigates the road to ultimate personal victory, director Morrison is right there with her, maintaining a propulsive momentum accentuated by editor Harry Yoon’s rhythmic cuts and composer Tamar-kali’s elegant, percolating score.
And so are we.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
Sign up for THR's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.