The Fire Inside Review – Inspirational, Triumphant, Excellent Story Driven Performances

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Category: Film

Published on Thursday, 02 January 2025 11:18

Written by Janet Walker

The Fire Inside, from MGM and Amazon Prime, presents the story of Claressa Shields, a poor, black, abused girl, one step from becoming a statistic, but this story doesn't end in the lost neighborhood of Flint, Michigan.

The film opens with a young girl wandering into the boxing gym of Jason Crutchfield, played by Brian Tyree Henry, who is training a group of young boxers. Claressa, played by Jazmin Headly, begins to practice the same drills outside the ring, and again she is told that he doesn't train girls. The boys in the ring are mocking her, explaining that she is mute, and never talks. She doesn't seem to hear and puts on the head gear, and finally the Coach gives in and puts her in the ring with a kid her size. In minutes, it is obvious that there is something different. When the coach, from ringside yells technique changes she immediately adjusts her fighting, and explodes, as if she had been born for this.

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She returns home late, and the kitchen is a mess, there is no food, the bread is molded. We understand early, this young girl is already behind the eight ball, the odds of her escaping the imposed fate are doubtful. The film jumps ahead at this point, and Claressa, played by Ryan Destiny, is one fight away from qualifying for the USA 2012 Olympics Boxing team.

As this match was held in China, she traveled alone without her coach and the USA Olympic committee provided a coach. We understand the dependency the athlete has on the coach as Claressa is in-between rounds, experiencing her first boxing loss, and asking the coach what she should do? Even with the loss, she qualifies for the Olympic team. It is a big moment for the girl from Flint, Michigan.

As she begins to soar, breaking away from the mold, her family rises against her, and her mother played by Olunike Adeliyi, throws her out of her home. She begins to live with the coach and his family. Claressa, at this point confronts what every elite athlete faces; the choice to remove the noise, remove the distractions, or get caught in the chaos. She, with the help of her coach, removes the noise and chaos, and doubles down on training. She wins the Olympic gold medal and while it is such an accomplishment, the aftermath is one let down after another.

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Claressa is angry, disappointed, and displays an ungrateful attitude to everyone, and every suggestion that may help her win over the media and pave the way for endorsement deals. While we cheer her dedication and determination, we want to say, get the chip off your shoulder, life isn't easy, and the gold medal for some may break open the money, the endorsements, but for others, some people have do to more, be more, train more, and raging against the system doesn't work, breaking the system from within is the only way to change the establishment.

For a moment Claressa appears to be swallowed back into the life she desperately fought against. She is angry at her coach as she believes he failed her, the life after the Gold didn't materialize. She rages, that she is being treated unfairly, and she is being treated unfairly, and the more she rages, the more she alienates. The way she sees it, the world needs to come to her, and everyone is at fault when it doesn't.

Fortunately, the USA Boxing committee gave her just enough time to be untethered from the sports world, before they reached out and offered her sponsorship to train in Colorado for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Still burned over the lack of endorsements, she is ready to walk.

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This sets up the last act of the triumphant ending of The Fire Inside. Academy Award winner Barry Jenkins penned the flawless screenplay, and Independent Spirit nominee for Best Lead Performance by Ryan Destiny, leads the cast along with Brian Tyree Henry, as Coach Crutchfield.

The ensemble performances are captivating and the audience, from the safety of distance, are drawn into the many dynamics that are played out. The performances are vivid and jump off the screen and as the audience we are pulled into the undercurrent. We see what is next for her, unless she gets the attitude in check.  We understand, through the skill of Cinematographer Rina Yang, who was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, the odds that are already set against anyone, especially a poor, black, abused girl of ever triumphing over these circumstances.  

Inspirational, The Fire Inside is a testament to the determination of the human spirit and is playing in theaters nationwide and streaming on Prime. See it.

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Country: U.S.

Language: English.

Runtime: 109 minutes.

Director: Rachel Morrison.

Producer: Michel De Luca, Elishia Holmes, Barry Jenkins.

Executive Producer: Zachary Canepari, Drea Cooper, Sue Jaye Johnson, Tracey Landon, Lyn Lucibello, Rachel Morrison, Claressa Shields.

Writer: Barry Jenkins.

Cast: Ryan Destiny, Brian Tyree Henry, Olunike Adeliyi, Adam Clark, Jazmin Headly, Kylee D. Allen, De'Adre Aziza, Chrystain Buddington, Teanna Weir, Idrissa Sanogo, Taytem Douglas, Shechinah Mpumlwana, Sekhai Jayden Smith, Sarah Allen, Lanette Ware, Jason Weinberg, Michael Brown.

Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She is completing the non-fiction narrative, "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," which is expected to be released in early 2025. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a former member of the International Federation of Journalists.