The Iron Claw masterfully intertwines the glory and agony of the Von Erich family in a way I did not expect. If you were to walk up to any long-time wrestling fan, a mention of the Von Erich family will automatically trigger a tinge of sadness in their mind. The Von Erichs are known as one of the greatest wrestling dynasties of all time, but also for being victims of unimaginable tragedies—from accidents to a series of tragic deaths—to the point they became an urban myth as a cursed last name.
It would be easy to sensationalize the “curse” aspect in a biopic, but director Sean Durkin’s heartbreaking yet empathetic look at brotherhood, as well as a fantastic ensemble cast, make The Iron Claw one of the best movies I’ve seen this year.
The Iron Claw, named after the family’s famous submission move, centers on patriarch and former wrestler Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany) and four of his children: Kevin (Zac Efron), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), David (Harris Dickinson) and Mike (Stanley Simons). The tight-knit brothers would take the wrestling world by storm throughout the 80s in the Texas-based WCCW (World Class Championship Wrestling). However, their incredible rise would come before a disastrous fall, as the combination of Fritz’s increasingly aggressive demands on the quartet and a number of misfortunes would tear the family apart.
Before the days when the WWF became the uncontested dominant brand of wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) ran multiple promotions in territories all across North America. A person who’s popular in a Texas-based promotion may not be as big in Missouri. The first act of the Iron Claw does a great job at showcasing that territory era of wrestling and everything surrounding the culture, from filming promos to planning the moves for the night’s matches to even showcasing the real camaraderie between people whom a crowd just saw tear each other apart less than 5 minutes prior.
“Zac Efron’s career-defining performance as Kevin Von Erich adds emotional depth to the family drama at the heart of The Iron Claw.”
It’s a peek behind the curtain that, while wrestling fans, it thankfully won’t alienate casual audiences or bury them in technical jargon. There are even appearances of other famous wrestlers of the time like The Sheik and Bruiser Brody (by actors, mind you), although the Ric Flair one doesn’t come remotely close to capturing the vocal eccentricities of the real Nature Boy.
The real meat of the movie lies in the family drama surrounding the brothers themselves. The ensemble cast all deliver fantastic performances and really show the chemistry they shared not only in the ring, but outside of it as well. The moments where they sneak out to a party, play football in the backyard or just drink on a lazy river are all grounded.
The biggest surprise with The Iron Claw, however, is Zac Efron, who gives perhaps the best performance of his career to date as Kevin Von Erich. Despite his massive physique, he is shy, introverted and seems unable to really express his emotions, even to his love interest Pam (Lily James). It’s an emotional performance, and Efron gets to shine like never before.
The movie also rightfully depicts the brothers as victims of toxic masculinity, especially at the hands of their abusive father. A former wrestler himself, Fritz never made it to the world championship level and is now adamant on realizing that dream through his children at any cost. He even ranks his children in preference, almost solely based on who has the highest chance of getting the championship. Holt McCallany plays this ruthless father figure incredibly well, being warm-hearted during the brothers’ successes but quickly snaps back to his demanding nature at a moments notice.
My one major hangup relies on what wasn’t in the film. While The Iron Claw focuses on four of the Von Erich children, in reality there were six. While the first child, Jack Jr. (who tragically died at age 6) is mentioned throughout the film, they make no mention of sixth child Chris Von Erich, who was also a wrestler alongside the other four and unfortunately died via suicide. While I’m sure it was a runtime-based decision, it’s still a very strange choice to center a movie on a real-life family while removing an entire sibling from that story.
The Iron Claw is equal parts devastating and beautiful. I knew that it would be hard to watch but it handles the tragic parts of the Von Erichs story with grace and respect without undercutting the impact. With that, it never lost sight of showing these brothers at their best. I truly hope the film manages to gain some sort of awards consideration at the end of the year.
