‘The Fire Inside’: Knockout True Story of a Female Boxer Who Beat Unbelievable Odds

When Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (Ryan Destiny) glowers, she doesn’t simply look angry—she appears ready to take a bite out of your face or rip your arms off to savagely beat you with them. Her rage is the spark that ignites The Fire Inside, providing it with an intensity that distinguishes its otherwise standard-issue sports tale of triumph over adversity.

Directed by frequent Ryan Coogler cinematographer Rachel Morrison (in her behind-the-camera debut) and written by Moonlight’s Barry Jenkins, this true-life drama, which hits theaters Dec. 25, throws a bevy of familiar, rousing punches on its way to a feel-good finale. Yet in the fearsome eyes of Destiny, it boasts its own unique power.

As an 11-year-old, Claressa Shields (Kylee D. Allen) jogs through the snow and past her Flint, Michigan, hometown’s dilapidated houses to the boxing gym run by Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry), who tells her for the umpteenth time that he doesn’t train girls. Nonetheless, unwilling to let her suffer the slings and arrows of aspiring pugilist Lil’ Zay (Taytem Douglas), he allows her into the ring and, with a few pointers, makes a fighter out of her.

Five years later, Claressa is a promising upstart whom Jason envisions competing for a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London. Before she can get there, she travels by plane (for what appears to be the first time, given her jitteriness) to Spokane, Washington, for the National Championships, where after winning her first fight, she stands before the press with her arms crossed and her visage in a brutal scowl—the byproduct of her disappointment over the margin of her victory.

Claressa exudes raw, frightening fury, and despite the advice of USA Boxing’s Nicole Thompson (Sarah Allen), she struggles to flash a personable smile for the cameras. Destiny embodies the upstart boxer with an awesome degree of ferocity, and yet her performance is anything but monotonous.

When not training with Jason or trading blows against opponents, Claressa reveals a warm and tender side, as well as layers of hurt caused by her upbringing with neglectful mother Jackie (Olunike Adeliyi), whose fondness for her daughter and her two other kids frequently takes a backseat to her own selfish desire for partying and men.

Though Jason says that Claressa has seen more in her 16 years than most have witnessed in their lifetimes, The Fire Inside goes light on domestic horrors, the worst of which is merely relayed by Claressa to now-boyfriend Lil’ Zay (Idrissa Sanogo). Still, her deeply rooted trauma is visible in every one of her imposing glares or fisticuff flurries.

With a dad in jail and a mom who’s often MIA, Claressa finds in Jason a surrogate father figure, and that role becomes more literal once Jackie throws her out of the house and she moves in with her coach and his clan. Financial hardships, absentee parents, and the sexism of the sports world—and especially boxing, considering that fans aren’t necessarily keen to see women beat each other to a pulp—are all obstacles in Claressa’s way, and The Fire Inside details her efforts to overcome them and establish herself as a force with heart and style.

Its aesthetics defined by both the chilly blue-gray of Michigan and in-ring camerawork that situates viewers alongside or in-between fighters, the film is efficient and affecting, no matter that much of what it depicts has been seen before in slightly different forms.

Claressa’s path to glory is paved with pitfalls, be it Jason not accompanying her to China (due to his coaching status and a lack of personal funds) or a surprising defeat that almost ends her Olympic dream before it begins. As an uplifting affair, Claressa is preordained to rebound and make good on her promise. The Fire Inside, however, switches things up by having her win gold at its midway point, after which the champion—who’s just a 17-year-old high schooler—returns to Flint with fame but little else in the way of professional or monetary opportunities.

What Claressa learns is that there are many mountains to scale before one truly reaches the top, and it’s her second climb that proves the arduous one. Beset by frustration and bitterness at boxing, the world, and Jason, who’s less than adept at snagging her endorsements or an agent, Claressa winds up at war with everything, including herself, culminating with a trip to the grocery store to get diapers for her infant nephew that ends with a crushing reminder of where she isn’t and what she hasn’t become.

It doesn’t take a sports buff to deduce that Claressa won’t stay down and out for long, but The Fire Inside’s second half is less about athletic achievement than about personal growth, as the protagonist learns to embrace her passion—and prioritize herself—without giving up on those she loves.

While there’s nothing particularly subtle about Jenkins’ script, the characters’ articulations of their feelings and opinions are stirring, and Destiny and Henry deliver knockout turns that make even their clichéd moments (together, and apart) ring true. Better still, its conclusion puts a premium on Claressa the person rather than the brawler, and on her and Jason’s recognition that through thick and thin, they had each other’s backs.

The Fire Inside is a moving portrait of not only prevailing over hardship, but of representing friends, family, community, and country by making the most of one’s gifts. In many respects, that means her story moves along a well-worn track, complete with a Tamar-kali score that sways and swells in predictably stirring fashion. However, Jenkins’ avoidance of excessive histrionics, and Morrison’s surehanded stewardship, lend the film a grace and moderation that bolsters its poignancy.

By not going all out with the heartstring-tugging, and by suggesting the numerous underlying factors complicating her journey via brief, telling gestures (be they snapshots of her downtrodden milieu or offhand mentions of the double standards female athletes face), they help convey the truly inspirational nature of Claressa’s tale.

The Fire Inside doesn’t break the mold, and ultimately, that’s to its benefit; it recognizes the enduring appeal of its genre’s conventions and energizes them with compelling personality. Moreover, in the impressively nuanced and charismatic Destiny, it unearths its own star—one who, like Claressa, seems fated for bigger and brighter things.