The Fire Inside
Directed by Rachel Morrison
Written by Barry Jenkins
Starring Ryan Destiny, Brian Tyree Henry
Runtime: 1 hour 49 minutes
Rated PG-13
In theaters December 25

by Heidi Krull, Staff Writer

Every professional athlete needs an incredible amount of grit, determination, and a touch of natural talent. However, women who are athletes need to have all of that and more to be taken seriously. Directed by Rachel Morrison, The Fire Inside tells the inspiring story of boxer Claressa Shields, and shows its audience just how hard women athletes must work to have their names in the conversation.

The film begins with a young Claressa (Jazmin Headley) in Flint, Michigan, sneaking into a boxing gym. Despite being told a number of times that they don’t train girls by volunteer coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry), Claressa manages to show off her natural talent in the ring and is allowed to officially train. After a few years, Claressa (Ryan Destiny) is by far the best boxer at the gym, and is undefeated in all of her matches. Despite having a path to her future and a close relationship with Jason, her difficult home life threatens to distract her and keep her stagnant in Flint. The Fire Inside gives viewers a beautifully personal look into Claressa’s boxing career and the people in her life, and shows that you can win an Olympic medal and still be deemed not good enough by the public.

My first thought watching this film was how wonderful the acting performances are. Sometimes with sports films, the writing can read a little corny and unrealistic, but Henry and Destiny’s performances were anything but. Henry managed to be funny, serious, knowledgeable, wise, and relatable all the way through the film, and I found his scenes (funny, sad or otherwise) with costar Destiny to be some of the most heartfelt moments. Destiny painted the picture of a teenage phenomenon perfectly. You can see her struggling with perfectionism in her boxing and sense her inner conflict when it came to her family being part of her life in the future. She portrayed a stubborn teenager very believably, and I could personally relate to her struggle with her identity.

A major aspect of Claressa’s story is that, despite her insane talent, being a boxer as a woman is a tall order. The Fire Inside did an excellent job portraying this to its audience, especially in the latter half of the film. After Claressa wins the Olympic gold medal, she rightfully expects to get a couple endorsements from sponsors like many other winners do. However, she and Jason are disgruntled to find out that sponsors are hesitant to endorse her for the sole fact she is a woman and a boxer. Throughout the film, she is told to change her appearance, her personality, and how she speaks to the public all to make her appear more “likeable” and “sweet.” Claressa refuses to change who she is for people who barely know her. She and Jason work together to get more public attention for her, and she is even offered a monthly stipend from USA Boxing to live and train in Colorado, but the amount isn’t even close to what the men get. Even though Claressa was dealing with all of this in addition to continuing to live in Flint, she fought for wage fairness for women boxers. Claressa’s strength in this situation is truly inspiring to see, and shows that she is someone that little girls can look up to.

The best aspect of The Fire Inside was the intersection between Claressa’s boxing career and her home life in Flint. At her lowest point, Claressa considers giving up boxing because of the lack of recognition she’s getting. But Jason, her mom, and her boyfriend Zay (Idrissa Sanogo) help her get her motivation back. Claressa realizes how much she loves boxing and how it has become an integral part of her life, and knows that if she quits, she may never box again. Some may view this as a choice between either her family or her career, but I saw it more as a way to grow for herself and her family. I loved how Claressa made up her own mind about where to go next and how she wasn’t distracted by the noise around her, showing her integrity and strength of character. Claressa’s story is relatable to so many people, especially women, and the film told her story amazingly.