The sports drama genre looks to be the favorite this season as another film makes its world premiere at TIFF which draws strong parallels with another movie we just reviewed that premiered earlier this week. The film The Fire Inside tells the true story of Claressa Shields (Ryan Destiny). A young girl eager to learn how to box. It is the one thing she knows that she’s good at and she meets a volunteer coach by the name of Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry) who quickly takes her under his wing.
Rachel Morrison makes her feature debut directing The Fire Inside. Morrison is a notable cinematographer who has worked on such films as Fruitvale Station; Mudbound, and Black Panther. Penning the script for The Fire Inside is Barry Jenkins best known for his films Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk. In the dilapidated and poor city of Flint, Michigan — where for many residents who live there — all hope is lost, Claressa Shields becomes a beacon of light for her community. Working alongside Jason Crutchfield, she trained hard enough to qualify to participate in the 2012 Olympic trials. In the 2012 Olympics in London, Claressa won a gold medal. And although she finds international success, she suffers from challenges in her homelife. Â
Claressa is still tethered to taking care of her mother Jackie (Olunike Adeliyi). She does what is a character flaw for many women — prioritizing care for others over their own self care. This further complicates opportunities for Claressa, as sports marketing reps and her coach Jason himself try to encourage her that she needs to be free and independent of her family. She needs to do this in order to be successful in her career as a boxer.
Ryan Destiny delivers an incredible and nuanced performance as the prolific boxer Claressa Shields. Ryan Destiny fully illustrates the dichotomy of life inside and outside of the boxing ring. She gets physical in some intense scenes filled with jabs and uppercuts executed with precision. And then there is Brian Tyree Henry’s performance of Jason Crutchfield. He delivers his all in this role as a man who is fighting to continue to believe in Claressa as well as believe in himself as a former boxer who once had a shot at it all and blew it. The best moments of this film are the scenes with both actors together firing off dialogue. As an argument ensues in one scene between Claressa and Jason the energy between the two is palpable.
The film also speaks to pay inequity in women’s boxing. This is a conversation being scrutinized at the moment in women’s basketball. Claressa Shields was successful in her pursuit against the Olympic board to increase a stipend afforded to female athletes to compete with male athletes. Her fight for equal pay continues throughout her boxing and MMA career.
The movie shows that Claressa had her flaws too. There are times that sports dramas can easily fall into the trope of surrounding a character with plot armor to make them seem invincible and that they can defy all odds in any situation. In the case of Shields, we get to witness her break down, become weak, and want to give up. We see that she makes mistakes. However, she is human just like the rest of us, and I can appreciate a film that takes that direction.
The Fire Inside is a story that shows what it looks like when the right people have your back. And one that isn’t afraid to tell the truth of what it looks like when someone makes the wrong choices. It is smart for telling the story this way and it’s one that sticks with you.
The Fire Inside made its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.
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