Movie Review: The Fire Inside

The Fire Inside may not be the quintessential boxing film, nor is it an overtly emotional tale of overcoming great odds to become a champion. But, it is a solid and entertaining story of two people that find each other and connect to make each other better than they were separately and manage to achieve greatness alongside of one another. In that way, it is perhaps a film sorely needed at this particular moment in time.

The film follows Claressa Shields (Ryan Destiny) as she begins training with Coach Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry) to ultimately competes as part of the American Olympic team, becoming the first American woman to win the gold medal in the event. It is an inspirational story rife with challenges that Shields overcomes with the support of those around her and an unwavering belief in herself.

Working from a script by Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk [2018] & Moonlight [2016]), director Rachel Morrison delivers an impressive debut feature that showcases the ability to allow story and character development to drive story rather than reliance on camera movement or other tricks of the trade. Morrison displays a confidence in her actors that gives them free reign to relate the story to the audience rather than simply being players reading lines of the script.

Brian Tyree Henry and Ryan Destiny in “The Fire Inside.” Photo by Amazon MGM Studios – © 2024 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The straight-forward and earnest script is enhanced by Rina Young’s cinematography which captures the world which Claressa is attempting to climb out of in Flint without making it seem like a caricature – all courtesy of Zosa Mackenzie’s production design and John O’Regan’s art direction.

The film, however, is ultimately carried by the superlative performances of Destiny and Henry. Both attack their roles with abandon and each brings a realism that makes the relationship between the two characters believable and something easily appropriated by the audience.

Although echoes of 2004’s Million Dollar Baby may ring throughout the setup of The Fire Inside, the two films could not be more disparate in their tone. The Fire Inside works more as an underdog story than the more dramatic approach at work in Clint Eastwood’s film.

While there may be more powerful films about the relationship between mentor and student or even more cinematic efforts centered around the sport of boxing, there are few films that prove as rewarding and entertaining as The Fire Inside proves to be. It is a film that simply works as a positive story that is meant to provide hope during a time when it may be particularly lacking.

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com

An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

@miketyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

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