The Fire Inside review

THE FIRE INSIDE: 

RYAN DESTINY PACKS A HARD, EMOTIONAL PUNCH IN CLARESSA SHIELDS BIOPIC! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

MGM

Ryan Destiny in The Fire Inside

 

            Ryan Destiny (Star, Grown-ish, Oracle) and cinematographer Rachel Morrison (Fruitvale Station, Dope, Black Panther) in her directorial debut join forces to bring the story of professional boxer, Claressa “T-Rex” Shields to the screen in the new biographical sports drama, The Fire Inside. When I reviewed A Complete Unknown recently, I at least knew who Bob Dylan was but didn’t know the details about his life or career however, I didn’t know anything about Claressa Shields until after I saw this movie. 

            Most of my knowledge of her actually came from the trailer of this movie so I will only be judging this as a film and won’t be going into accuracy here. The film is written and produced by Barry Jenkins (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk, Mufasa: The Lion King) in yet another movie this year with his name attached to it that I’m discussing recently. 

            Thankfully, this is the far better movie with his name on it despite not directing it himself, I was very impressed with The Fire Inside and thought it really pushed the envelope for how to tell a sports biopic. Not only was I invested and captivated, but it makes me want to look up the real person and see how accurate the film portrays her and/or the events. 

            The film follows Claressa, a high school Junior from Michigan who pushes past all limitations to become the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing with the aid of her tough-love coach, Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry-If Beale Street Could Talk, Spider-Verse, Joker). But even at the pinnacle of her success, Claressa realizes the fact that not all dreams are created equal and her true fight begins. 

            The film also stars Oluniké Adeliyi (John Q, Undercover Brother, Saw 3D) as Claressa’s mother Jackie and De’Adre Aziza (Miracle at St. Anna, Red Hook Summer, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus) as Mickey. 

            Overall, The Fire Inside is one of the boldest and most honest sports biopics I’ve ever seen and a true testament of what the genre is capable of. Most sports biopics would have the fight for the gold medal as the climax and end the movie there, but this one goes further and asks “Okay, you got the gold medal, now what?” and really dives into the victory’s aftermath. 

            Because of this, I actually found the second half of the movie much more interesting than the first which was still done well, don’t get me wrong. The first half is your typical sports biopic, but then it goes more into the fact that Claressa and her family are still struggling financially and is having difficulties finding endorsements among other things. 

            It’s a movie that’s going to make me look at other sports biopics from a completely different perspective when they end from now on. Just that one extra push to go beyond that gold medal winning victory makes a huge difference and helps the film stand out from the rest. 

            I’m not familiar with Ryan Destiny’s other work, but I thought she was excellent as the tenacious, savage, and fearless, Claressa Shields while also having plenty of somber moments amongst her coach, mother, or other family members. Absolutely magnificent performance and has great chemistry with Brian Tyree Henry as her coach whether they’re caring for each other or at each other’s throats. 

            Oluniké Adeliyi also has quite a few standout moments as her mom who at first you’d think would be a one-note character, but she goes through an arc as the film goes and delivers some of the most heartfelt and heaviest scenes in the entire movie. Honestly, the film does an amazing job at making you care about every person in the movie even very minor characters or those with only one or two scenes. 

            The Fire Inside is a heavy but moving sports biopic that goes the extra mile with what’s expected by the genre that has plenty of cheer-worthy moments, but also makes you think about the harsh reality of what happens after the gold medal is won. The performances are brilliant, the storytelling is clever and thought-provoking, and the emotions are effective, this “Fire” shines bright and will likely shine for many years to come.