Even when a film does not show anything spectacular, it leaves more room for actors to do what they do best: act. The Fire Inside is an American biographical sports film by cinematographer and director Rachel Morrison (Black Panther)—making this film her feature debut. The movie covers the story of American professional boxer Claressa “T-Rex” Shields training for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Bryan Tyree Henry (Bullet Train, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire) stars alongside Ryan Destiny, as Coach Jason Crutchfield.
While The Fire Inside had a raving debut at the Toronto International Film Festival 2024, it was also a great film to see at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival 2024. By the end of the film, I was hyped with the crowd when Claressa gets her happy ending. As Canadians, we still know a lot of the big athletes from the U.S. but Claressa was not one of them. So, I learned a lot about her story and about Flint, Michigan.
Any time there was boxing on-screen was a spectacle, and entertaining. It was a real Rocky–like story, with the training montages and the whole underdog story. At its core, I believed Destiny and Henry’s portrayals of coach and student/athlete. The other connection for Destiny’s Claressa is her hometown of Flint, Michigan. The connection Claressa had with her hometown was similar to how Rock Balboa was tied to Philadelphia—the difference being Rocky was a fictional character.
“The most unique part of The Fire Inside was its ability to tell a non-traditional sports tale.”
The music was done by Tamar-kali who I had never heard of as a composer before, but worked with Morrison as well. Tamar-kali is best known for collaborating with director Dee Rees (Mudbound, Bessie) too, so it was kind of a nice full-circle moment. However, I did not find the score as a standout feature; it seemed quite generic for a sports film. I was hoping there would be something special within the score of this well-written story, but I was disappointed that it was a lacklustre mix of violins and some potential drumline notes. This left me curious to discover Tamar-kali’s other work.
The soundtrack was also subpar, but had some good banger songs when Claressa walks out for her fights, or during her training montages. This was the saving grace for The Fire Inside’s score and music display. But again, the writing of this film was too good to ignore—allowing me to overlook the subpar score and music mix.
It was refreshing to see a movie where it was not fluffed with star power across the story. Keeping the story focused on the relationship between Claressa and Jason was a major benefit to the storytelling, and allowed the audience to build that bond with the two characters too. The most unique part of The Fire Inside was its ability to tell a non-traditional sports tale. Most films about a person or team that ultimately wins the medal or trophy end the film there, and it seems like things are happily ended. The Fire Inside does not do that.
“The heart of the film was the chemistry between Destiny and Henry, playing the coach and athlete roles.”
This sports story went beyond the fairy tale ending, and tells the harsh reality of some Olympic winners. More so, it showed the commercial side of things in sports and how athletes are forced to market themselves despite their extraordinary physical abilities. If you have seen the latest season of Cobra Kai, you will understand a bit more about how being a sports influencer goes a long way. One could argue that Apollo Creed from the Rocky films was the OG film sports influencer.
The Fire Inside also deals with how some Olympic winners do not have much financial success even after winning a gold medal! That is a crazy statement, but this story emphasizes it. It was both shocking and informative to know that athletes like Claressa have to go back to their broken families, and rough communities. I almost teared up in this film because of how morally ambiguous some of the situations Claressa had to deal with. At the end of the day, we can all say we will be there for family no matter what, but stories like these leave that in question.
The Fire Inside captured an inspiring story, and told it in a unique way. I enjoyed how every character was fallible to a certain extent. The heart of the film was the chemistry between Destiny and Henry, playing the coach and athlete roles. While I have only seen Destiny from Grown-ish, I am confident she will be an upcoming star to look out for. For those looking for a very inspiring sports story this holiday season, The Fire Inside delivers a well-written 1-2-punch story that the general audience may not have known about but is an important person in history.