Joey Magidson
Sports dramas tend to follow a certain trajectory. Whether based on real life or totally made up, it’s about inspiration and building up to the climactic sporting event. Oftentimes, especially when it’s a biopic, what happens after the bell rings and a winner emerges is left to on screen text. The Fire Inside, to its credit, decides to make that text into the third act of the movie. It’s a good thing, too, since aside from that, this is a solid yet fairly unremarkable work. Playing at the Toronto International Film Festival, it’s easy enough to like, if unlikely to engender any large scale love.
The Fire Inside mostly distinguishes itself with the “what happens after” element of its story. Otherwise, you know almost all of the beats contained within. Luckily, the central performance is quite good, while there’s a terrific supporting turn that elevates things even more. Even if little here is new, what’s shown to us is well done enough to warrant a recommendation.
This is the story of Claressa ‘T-Rex’ Shields (Ryan Destiny), a young boxer from Flint, Michigan. Claressa is a talented fighter and is seeking to train for the Olympics. Under the tutelage of Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry), she wants to become become the first woman in United States history to win a gold medal in the sport. Being from Flint, life at home is very hard, with her mother (Olunike Adeliyi) not always reliable. Jason struggles to support his family, too, working a day job while training Claressa for free. The hard work pays off, however, and she’s bound for the Olympics, with gold in her future.
Even as a winner, when she returns home, life isn’t exactly as she expected. Jason isn’t initially able to get her endorsements, her desire to be paid as much as the men while training for the next Olympics is rebuffed, and money is tight. Watching this struggle, coming right after the supposed peak of her career, is where things really hit home.
Newcomer Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree Henry are really why you watch this film. Destiny immediately becomes someone to watch out for, while Henry throws another ace supporting turn under his belt. They have a nice athlete/trainer chemistry, which comes in handy both early on and during the final act. In addition to Olunike Adeliyi, the supporting players include Jazmin Headley, but it’s Destiny and especially Henry who soar.
Cinematographer turned director Rachel Morrison and writer Barry Jenkins made this a passion project of theirs, though it’s sometimes hard to understand why. The material clearly means a lot to them, though in execution, it comes off closer to a well-done paycheck gig than something the former turned down cinematography work to make. It’s not necessarily a major criticism, either. It’s just noticing how this is a solid flick, as opposed to a great one.
The Fire Inside is a biopic that paints by numbers in a pleasing enough manner, before finding its unique voice in the third act. I’m skeptical that the film will find a huge audience outside of TIFF, but for those who enjoy a sports biopic, this offers up something easy to enjoy. You may wish the movie did more in the first half, but in the back end, it argues for its own existence.
SCORE: ★★★
Comments
Loading…