The Iron Claw
It has long been said that the best sports movies aren’t about sports, they’re about the people who participate in those sports. The Iron Claw exemplifies that idea. This is a humane drama about a family that just happens to be in the business of professional wrestling. I’d never heard of the Von Erich clan before, and I don’t care one iota about wrestling, but for 130 minutes, writer/director Sean Durkin made me care deeply about them and what happens to them.
Kevin (Zac Efron), David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), and Mike (Stanley Simons) have all been trained by hard-driving father Fritz (Holt McCallany) and complicit mother Doris (Maura Tierney) to be champion wrestlers. Kevin is primed to become the big winner until Fritz unexpectedly lets one of his brothers surpass him. That’s the mildest of the obstacles the family faces. Talk of a curse has haunted the Von Erichs for years. Kevin thinks it’s very real, becoming particularly freaked out after he marries Pam (Lily James) and has children with her. Having them affected by the curse is too horrific to contemplate.
Lots of unfortunate, unpleasant things happen to these people as their name becomes increasingly prominent in the pro wrestling world. What The Iron Claw does extremely well is to let us see the truth Kevin can’t see for himself. They are under a curse, but the curse is their own patriarch. Durkin homes in on the bizarre family dynamic, in which undying loyalty is emphasized by Fritz yet not always shown by him. He calls the shots, using his sons as a tool to achieve success. It’s that bizarre phenomenon where an abuser disguises his abuse as love. Few films tackle that theme, much less as observantly as this one.
Zac Efron is a revelation as Kevin. The already fit actor is bulked up to the point where it seems his skin will tear from the bulging muscles underneath. He makes Kevin a scared, sensitive soul who lets out his aggression in the ring. Watching his heart break as a series of tragedies and disappointments unfold is profoundly affecting. Jeremy Allen White is equally good, inferring that despite his love for his brother, Kerry is secretly pleased to have a chance to surpass Kevin. As Fritz, Holt McCallany portrays one of the best S.O.B. dads since Robert Duvall in The Great Santini.
The Iron Claw might sound like a downer given the subject matter. In reality, the film takes viewers through darkness to bring them to a place of light. Kevin’s journey is the heart of the picture. Every tough situation he endures causes a reevaluation of life itself. While his battles in the ring are brutal (and essentially pre-determined), what Kevin must tackle outside of it is far more difficult and unpredictable. He wonders if happiness is even a possibility. Pam is a good start. The question becomes how to process the familial drama to come out the other side with a better handle on what it means to live.
Elsewhere, the movie does a terrific job of establishing the 1980s time period and taking us inside the world of pro wrestling. Durkin’s attention to detail in those regards makes the story extra vivid. The stakes for Kevin Von Erich are palpable. You root for him just as you would if you were cheering for him during a match. The Iron Claw is a first-rate drama about pain, brotherly bonds, and the importance of redefining what “victory” means.
out of four
The Iron Claw is rated R for language, suicide, some sexuality, and drug use. The running time is 2 hours and 10 minutes.
