Directed by Sean Durkin, The Iron Claw tells the true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports.
There is no denying that the world and history of pro-wrestling surely is a fascinating one that has led to the creation of several films over the years that have won over the hearts of various audiences, even ones who aren’t fans of the sport. I personally haven’t watched as many wrestling films as others have but I have seen several that stood out to me, including The Wrestler (2008), Foxcatcher, and Fighting With My Family. Initially, I was not keen on seeing The Iron Claw but the massive amounts of praise it has received from my friends and fellow reviewers made it catch my attention so I decided to finally give it a watch to see what was all the praise about. And my lord was I in for a shock.
The Iron Claw is an immensely powerful and serious film about triumph, tragedy, and generational trauma that completely blew me away in many unexpected ways. It packs a huge emotional punch that never holds back having me hooked from start to end and very much earns the overwhelming praise it has received, especially for the absolutely phenomenal performances delivered by the entire cast.
The one person in the cast that deserves the most amount of praise is Zac Efron who delivers the best performance of his entire career with the role of Kevin Von Erich. Efron is the heart and head of this film, beautifully bringing to life a tortured yet compelling figure that I was completely emotionally attached to. Kevin’s life is full of immense physical and mental trauma, which is not easy for any actor to portray, yet Efron does it flawlessly, taking me by complete surprise. I have always considered Efron to be talented when given the right material to work with but I never expected him to be capable of this level of emotionally layered acting. He easily delivers the most emotional scenes of the film with his performance, especially in the very final scene that really hit me hard and had me actually weeping.
He shares stellar chemistry with the rest of the cast especially with the other actors of the Von Erich brothers, really nailing the sibling dynamic of the real-life family and feeling like brothers on screen.
Harris Dickinson as David Von Erich and Stanley Simons as Mike Von Erich are both excellent in their respective performances but it’s Jeremy Allen White as Kerry Von Erich that brings in some of the most powerful moments in the film along with Efron’s Kevin. Having recently won over so many hearts with his leading role in the series The Bear, Jeremy Allen White continues to rise as a star with his performance in this film, putting a whole array of incredible emotions on display that makes him such a tragic yet compelling individual that you get to witness rise and fall in such a shocking manner.
You root for all the brothers in this film yet get your heart broken multiple times as you see them endure the agony of literally and metaphorically wrestling with their lives, all because of their glory hound of a father, played brilliantly by Holt McCallany. A majority of the problems and tragedies the brothers endure all stem from generational trauma caused by their father who cares very little about the physical and mental well-being of his sons and only truly cares about obtaining endless glory in the world of wrestling. He is the real-life villain of this story and Holt McCallany does a fantastic job portraying him in a realistic fashion without ever going overboard.
We also get two very strong supporting performances by Maura Tierney as Doris Von Erich and Lily James as Pam Adkisson who act as great emotional anchors for the brothers in the film in their own ways.
This film does not go in the expected fairy tale direction that most sports dramas go, in which the protagonists endure a journey that eventually leads to fame and fortune. The story of the Von Erich family actually begins with triumph and rising success before their fortunes drastically change as a result of consistent tragedies and everything begins to spiral downward, resulting in a narrative that can be emotionally grueling to watch yet still so compelling you can’t help but push through to know how things end up for these people, especially Kevin.
This film examines the physical and mental challenges that these wrestlers face when participating in such physically demanding events, and how if they are not monitored or controlled can lead to horrific outcomes. Regardless of whether you take pro-wrestling seriously or not one thing that this film makes clear as a fact is that wrestlers are people just like us who are putting their bodies on the line for entertainment purposes, and that at some point it takes a serious toll on them, which isn’t a scripted act.
Understandably this film may not be for everyone due to the subject matter (some of which can be triggering) and how things get progressively worse for the Von Erich family as the film progresses, but it isn’t all doom and gloom. There is a glimmer of hope present amongst the tragic events leading to an ending that is emotional yet immensely satisfying and makes the grueling journey ultimately worth it.
This film is gorgeously crafted on a technical level when it comes to the wrestling action, the cinematography, the editing, and especially the great score by composer Richard Reed Parry. There is so much natural beauty that this film displays that brings forth all of the emotions and themes visually without needing complete reliance on dialogue or visual effects of any kind.
Additionally, since this film takes place in the early 80s, this film definitely has a very 80s visual aesthetic but not too over the top like other films like to do. This film keeps things on a mostly realistic level, which is a refreshing change from most other 80s-based films that love to shove as much of the 80s in your face with retro products and of course endless popular tunes of that time.
This film was not at all what I expected it to be but I loved it very much and I can say it definitely has earned the praise that it has received. It is one of the most emotional wrestling dramas I have seen in a long time and I highly recommend giving it a watch whenever you can. I’m going to give The Iron Claw an A = 97.
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