Words by JANE CROWTHER
At this time of year, cinema is an embarrassment of riches – the films that could have been contenders on the Oscars run jostle for position with those that made the golden nominee enclosure. In another year, The Fire Inside, a plucky boxing biopic, might have been included in awards conversations – most particularly for Brian Tyree Henry’s multi-dimensional performance as a coach.
Charting the climb of Claressa ‘T-Rex’ Shields, a determined young Black teen from Flint, Michigan, who took herself to the 2012 Olympics and astonished her opponents and the boxing community, The Fire Inside is both a classic sports flick and a story of female emancipation. As written by Barry Jenkins and directed by cinematographer Rachel Morrison (who lensed Creed), it not only tells that underdog story but provides nuance and lived-in detail to Clarissa’s struggle that wasn’t just competitive, but influenced by race, gender, geography and economics.
An impoverished girl growing up hungry and caring for her siblings while her single mom parties, Clarissa (played with steely gumption by Ryan Destiny) doesn’t have many options in dilapidated Flint. But she turns up at the boxing gym of Jason (Henry), a guy who teaches the neighbourhood boys to spar when he’s not a telephone engineer. Clarissa’s diligence and Jason’s care forms her into a champ, one who could fight for America at a global level, as well as inspire other hungry overlooked girls.
Jenkins’ screenplay gives space for Clarissa to have agency not only in fighting against older, more experienced opponents but in questioning sports funding (white competitors who wear makeup and cute outfits get sponsorship and endorsements, male athletes get more deals than female) as well as the importance of financial compensation for talent. She can win gold but she needs more than praise to feed her siblings, telling her boyfriend bluntly that ‘money IS recognition’. At the same time, Jenkins expands the roles of those around this champ; her mother is a mess of contradictions, her coach isn’t merely a hardass.
Coach Jason, in the hands of Henry, is a warm, kind man who sees the opportunity sport presents to Clarissa and, without fanfare, does everything in his limited power to make it happen for her. That means taking on a fatherly, protective role and also stepping away when he needs to. In another, less crowded, year Henry would surely be planning his tux for Oscar night. As the two go for a second Olympic triumph, we see the cost of fighting for first when it’s not rewarded and the pressure on a teenager when she could be the ‘golden girl’ in every way. And though it ticks the sports movie bingo card (jogging in snowy streets, nailbiting matches, the threat of a fierce competitor), The Fire Inside succeeds in being about so much more – and reflecting audience real-life experience back at them.
Words by JANE CROWTHER
Pictures courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios
The Fire Inside is in cinemas now
