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17-year-old Claressa ‘T-Rex’ Shields from Flint, Michigan dreams of being the first woman in history to win a gold medal in Olympic boxing. But in order for her to succeed, she’ll need to stand her ground both inside and outside the ring.
Rather incredulously, 2012 marked the first time women’s boxing was included in the Olympics. Even more incredulously, a teeny-tiny number of films cover the subject of female boxing (the sappy, overrated “Million Dollar Baby” comes to mind, as well as the “just okay” “Girlfight,” and a film I distributed while working for Vision Films, Jill Morley’s ambitious little doc, “Fight Like A Girl”). Directors’ Zackary Canepari and Drea Cooper’s latest real-life account of a young girl’s struggle to get an Olympic gold medal is a commendable addition to the small sub-genre of female boxing films, but does little to renovate the genre itself, coasting along on the strengths of its protagonist and undeniably winsome underdog storyline.
Early on, we see Claressa, discouraged and inconsolable after a tournament. The 17-year-old narrates about dreaming of being in the Olympics: “In my dream, I’d be looking around and thinking to myself, ‘how did I get here?’” Undefeated, with a record of 24-0, she knocks her opponents out on the ring, her approach relentless, aggressive. The titles announce: “She must win her next tournament in China to qualify for the Olympics.”
We follow her through the six-month arduous training, also delving into Claressa’s underprivileged background in Flint, Michigan (fun fact: also the birthplace of celebrity documentarian Michael Moore). Raised by an alcoholic, abusive – but loving – mother and an incarcerated father (as well as what seems like a series of, AHEM, “stand-up” individuals), Claressa didn’t let those challenges affect her, and Canepari/Cooper’s documentary examines her origins-to-success trajectory, with occasional slips into banality.
The film goes from Michigan to China to England, following Claressa’s journey, with several great insider shots of what it’s like to actually be a part of the Olympics. There are many standout moments. Due to lack of funding, Claressa cannot take her beloved coach Jason with her to China and has to work with a team of USA boxing coaches, which leads to a poignant series of phone conversations over the phone. When she loses a match, her palpable disappointment is heart-shredding. The finale is suitably enthralling, an ambiguous note. In fact, the film’s most resonant line comes from the coach at the end: “Only in America. Won a gold medal and still gotta work. If she were a man, we’d be rich right now.”
My favorite moment, however, comes from a scene outside the ring, involving Claressa’s sister. During an interview at her house, the 14-year-old gets interrupted by her mother’s boyfriend, who, after listening to her honest admittance that she wants to “get away from all these lowlives,” accuses her of doing nothing but smoking weed all day. Her response? “And you a crackhead, bitch!” The mother quickly steps in, “Now don’t you start…” A pause hangs in the air. “Fuckin’ pervert,” the girl mumbles, then snaps back to it. “Anyways, like I was sayin’…” That’s reality, right there, folks. It’s a darkly funny, sad and humbling moment – a subtle and endearing call to action.
Weighing 165 pounds, all pure muscle and stringent focus, Claressa is a sight to behold. Determined, passionate, candid and strong-as-hell, the young athlete will stop at nothing to get to that medal. “Every Friday, when everyone was going to a party, I was down [at the gym],” she says. “It made me feel important.” She delivers another memorable line later on: “My goal, before boxing, was to have 10 kids before I was 26.” After a win in London, when her coach tells her they’ll meet her on the train, she declares, “That’s low class. I’m a celebrity now.” At the end, she summarizes the film: “Respect me as being a woman, respect me as being black, respect me as being an athlete who represented the United States!”
The story’s predictable structure is a given (just like most real-life underdog sports dramas), but the stylistic choices the directors implement are merely functional as opposed to groundbreaking. This simplicity works for the most part, as the story is interesting, but I did wish for a more thrilling pace, more unexpected shots and generally more novelty. This is no Werner Herzog. “T-Rex” is not deeply psychological. It’s a bit repetitive (she wants to win and she’ll stop at nothing, we get it, what else?). The bigger picture – Claressa’s socioeconomic background and proposed methods to fight it – is barely touched upon, and the whole issue of female boxing JUST becoming relevant is left largely unexplored.
Perhaps that was the filmmakers’ point – to just focus on Claressa during this journey, and nothing else -but it leaves one craving more. That said, the training/fighting scenes are invigorating, well-staged and edited throughout. The documentary definitely makes a strong point for the power of perseverance, achieving your dreams, and contains moments of genuine suspense. A young, black woman literally boxes her way to the heights of success, fighting – perhaps unknowingly – against the society that ostracized her. Add to that the fact that you can count the number of films about female boxers on one hand, and you got a worthy little cinematic achievement here. Kudos to the filmmakers – and especially Claressa – for setting an example, for all of us.
“T-Rex” premieres on PBS August 2nd
