The Fire Inside (2024)
Directed by: Rachel Morrison
Premise: Based on true events. Claressa Shields (Ryan Destiny) trains to be the first female boxer to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States. After achieving her goal, Sheilds struggles to get by in her hometown of Flint, Michigan.
What Works: The Fire Inside manipulates the typical narrative structure of a boxing picture. These movies are typically about fighters who train and triumph in the ring, with the fight validating their spirit. The first half of The Fire Inside does exactly this with Claressa Shields rising from poverty and fighting her way to a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. But having won the gold and proven herself, Shields returns home only to struggle in much the same way she had before. While other medal winners get endorsement deals and publicity, Shields is left aside and faces an uncertain future. This is a subversive indictment of Horatio Alger stories and the disconnect between the American dream and the lived reality of many impoverished people in the United States. Both halves of the film are done well. The Fire Inside delivers the boxing action viewers look for in this kind of film but the domestic drama of the second half is also impressive and the two parts fit together to form a coherent whole. The Fire Inside is the feature film directorial debut of Rachel Morrison whose background is in camera work; she had been the cinematographer on Mudbound and Black Panther. This is an assured debut and cinematographer Rina Yang creates images that are elegant and capture both the beauty of athleticism and the violence of boxing. Flint, Michigan is shot with a similar quality and the subject and the setting of The Fire Inside fit together. The story centers upon the relationship between fighter Claressa Shields and her coach Jason Crutchfield. These characters are brought to life by actors Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree Henry and the film allows them to be flawed and complicated people. The filmmakers don’t lose sight of the fact that Shields was a teenager during her Olympic career and include a touch of adolescent drama amid the boxing action.
What Doesn’t: The Fire Inside makes the case for Claressa Shields as a trailblazer for equity in women’s sports. Shields demanded that the United States’ Olympic Committee give women competitors equal financial support. That aspect of Shields’ story is in the film but it isn’t dramatized very well. There is no action that visualizes this part of the story. That’s part of a larger problem with the ending. The Fire Inside feels like it is missing the last part of the story. Shields wins her gold metal, realizes that her dreams of financial stability are not happening, and recommits to competing. We’re set up for a new fight that carries with it the dramatic weight of her struggles but we don’t get it. The movie just stops and summarizes what ought to be the climax through archival footage and on-screen text. It’s a disappointing conclusion to what is otherwise a very good sports film.
Bottom Line: The Fire Inside is a good sports film. It stops short of being a great one and the end is frustrating but this is overall a commendable effort with some good performances and impressive cinematography.
Episode: #1029 (December 29, 2024)