The Fire Inside (2024) * * *

 

Directed by:  Rachel Morrison

Starring:  Ryan Destiny, Brian Tyree Henry, Olunike Adeliyi

The Fire Inside is based on the true story of Olympic gold medal boxer Claressa Shields (Destiny), a teenager from Flint, Michigan who became the unlikely gold medalist at the 2012 London games, only to come home and find being an Olympian doesn't hold much weight when bills have to be paid.  This is not a boxing movie which ends in the Big Fight.  The gold medal match occurs halfway through the movie, with the obligatory training montage scenes before that.  

The Fire Inside isn't Rocky, although Claressa is surely an underdog with a fierce love of boxing that started when she was younger.  The opening scenes circa 2006 show her jogging before dawn to the local gym where Jason Crutchfield, himself a former boxer, trains.  Claressa, like Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby, asks to train to be a fighter.  Jason states he doesn't train girls, but after one round against one of her male counterparts, Jason agrees to train her.  Jason's attitude isn't rooted in sexism or misogyny, but the idea that in 2006, there weren't a lot of female boxers.  Women's boxing didn't become an Olympic sport until 2012, the year Claressa won gold. 

Claressa's home life is troubling, and boxing is her outlet and her passion.  Her mother is an aimless former drug addict.  Claressa admits to being raped when she was a young girl and she and her siblings frequently go hungry.  Jason has a loving wife and children, working steadily at the local cable company.  When Claressa wins the national title and travels to China for the Olympic trials, Jason can't afford to go with her.  Claressa loses her first bout there and squeaks into the Olympic draw, leaving her with self-doubt and resentment towards Jason for not being there. 

The rest is history.  Destiny is a convincing boxer and handles herself well, but the best performance in the movie is Henry's, who brings a steady dose of compassion, love, and strength to Jason.  He tries to be Claressa's manager and publicist when she returns home after winning gold, but finds the endorsements and money other Olympians gain aren't available to her.  A lesser movie would've blamed racism and sexism or even hinted at it, but The Fire Inside understands that sports agents are in the business for money, and there isn't much to be found for a female boxer back then, especially one like Claressa who is brutally honest in her interviews.  Claressa doesn't understand that she needs to play the game, and this doesn't sit well with her, but post-Olympic treatment isn't based necessarily on fairness.  The Fire Inside understands that and in some ways, it's refreshing.  

Mr. Brooks (2007) * * *

 

Directed by:  Bruce A. Evans

Starring:  Kevin Costner, William Hurt, Demi Moore, Dane Cook, Marg Helgenberger, Danielle Panabaker, Lindsay Crouse

Earl Brooks (Costner) is a successful Portland businessman who was just awarded by the city as its businessman of the year, but later that night, he murders two people in cold blood and burns his clothes in an incinerator.  We learn that Earl has killed many times before and has never been caught.  He is meticulous down to the last detail and troubled detective Tracy Atwood (Moore), who herself is caught up in a messy divorce, is frustrated by her inability to solve Brooks' murders.  

Mr. Brooks is a complex tale of a man at odds with himself.  On the surface, Earl is a family-oriented businessman whom no one can say a bad word about.  He isn't overly friendly and keeps to himself for good reason.  He thinks he has everything wired, until one day a young man named Mr. Smith (Cook) meets him at the office and provides compromising photos showing Mr. Brooks at the murder scene.  Mr. Smith, a voyeur, caught Earl in the act and blackmails him.  His price?  Take him along when Earl commits his next murder.  

Earl is guided by his imaginary alter ego Marshall (Hurt), who acts mostly as the devil on his shoulder.  He laughs off Earl's declarations that he won't kill anymore.  Earl's daughter Jane (Panabaker) also comes home saying she left school back east for fuzzy reasons and is also pregnant.  Earl and Marshall soon understand the truth of Jane's situation and Earl will have to go into the killing business again while trying to control the wildcard that is Mr. Smith.

Mr. Brooks is full of subplots and keeps a steady pace.  I'm sure I left a couple of other characters and plots out for the sake of brevity, but we find ourselves rooting for Earl to not be caught.  Why this dynamic?  It's rooted in the performances.  Costner's Earl Brooks is an intelligent man who loves his family, but also possesses the innate ability to kill.  Mr. Smith, well played by comedian Dane Cook, is a burgeoning psychopath looking for an outlet for his murderous desires.  We are also not without sympathy for Demi Moore's Tracy Atwood, whose job is to catch people like Earl Brooks and is not only dealing with a divorce, but a criminal she put away who escaped from prison and is coming for her. 

Mr. Brooks was supposed to be a trilogy, but its box-office failure prevented that from happening.  The movie serves its purpose as a standalone movie, but in the age of streaming, why not give us another couple of movies to see how the vision would play out?