"The Iron Claw" is a biographical sports drama film written and directed by Sean Durkin ("Martha Marcy May Marlene", "The Nest"). Starring Zac Efron in the lead role, it presents an interesting yet undeniably tragic look at one of the greatest wrestling families in the history of the sport.
In 1979 in Texas, former professional wrestler Jack "Fritz" Von Erich (Holt McCallany) owns and operates the wrestling company "World Class Championship Wrestling" (WCCW). Fritz is married to his wife Doris (Maura Tierney) and has five sons; Jack Jr, who died in infancy, Kevin (Zac Efron), David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), and Mike (Stanley Simons). Following in their father's footsteps, Kevin and David choose to wrestle professionally, with the former eventually being crowned the Texas Heavyweight Champion. After Kevin starts a relationship with a local woman named Pam (Lily James), he informs her of the "Von Erich curse", which is believed to have started after the unfortunate death of his older brother Jack Jr as a young child due to his father changing the family name Adkisson to his mother's maiden name. Over the course of the following decade, the Von Erich brothers experience several misfortunes and accidents that give weight to this theoretical curse, but the family remains determined to preserve their legacy for all the right reasons.
Whether you believe in curses or not, it's hard to ignore the alarming amount of bad luck the Von Erich family have experienced since their foray into the world of wrestling. Without going into too much detail, it is clear that the legacy of the Von Erichs will be somewhat tarnished by a series of unfortunate events that almost destroyed everything the family patriarch Fritz had built over several years. In spite of so many things going wrong for them, the Von Erich family still managed to leave a notable impact within the sport of wrestling, as even to this day they remain a force to be reckoned with. Named after the family's signature wrestling move, the film "The Iron Claw" delves into the Von Erich dynasty by examining their achievements and the tragic circumstances that befell them during their prime.
As is necessary in any family drama, the film is told to us from the different perspectives of the Von Erichs during certain points of the story. For instance, in the beginning, we see how Fritz views the life choices his sons wish to make regarding their respective career paths. Though initially reluctant to have them do what he did, Fritz decides to support and later train Kevin and David to be the very best wrestlers capable of carrying on the family legacy. It is here we see Fritz balancing his fatherly duties with that of a determined coach, pushing his sons to the very limits of their wellbeing while also trying to remain a positive paternal figure in their lives. In most other sports dramas, the father character is often abusive and neglects the personal feelings of his children for the sake of his own gain, but here it is refreshing to see that Fritz is a genuinely loving parent who never forces his sons to do what they would never want on their own terms. Instead, he allows them to work out any of their differences in more constructive ways rather than destructive.
Similarly, we also watch Kevin, who is now the oldest child by default, take on his elder brotherly duties by working to make a name for both himself and the rest of his family. Being a firsthand witness to the damage this curse is capable of causing, Kevin understands how important it is for him to work extra hard to prevent any further misfortune from occurring to his younger siblings. In addition to this, he constantly feels the pressure to become the World Heavyweight Champion, not only from his father, but also out of personal obligation to overcome his family's alleged curse. Though things seem to be going alright at first, a tragic chain of events start to take place that almost derail everything he had worked towards up until that point. This is where the film shifts its primary focus from Fritz over to Kevin, with the latter finding it increasingly difficult to simultaneously stay focused on wrestling while all of these family tragedies are taking place around him. To make matters worse, other competing wrestling companies start to emerge that pose a major threat to the Von Erich's presence within the community.
At first, you might be forgiven for assuming this film is only about the Von Erich's time in the spotlight as a powerhouse wrestling family, but as the film progresses it becomes a far darker tale of emotional heartbreak. Director Sean Durkin handles this story with the utmost care, never allowing it to descend into a repetitive mess of sad moments and sentimentality. Instead, Durkin chooses to focus on the tight-nit family unit of the Von Erichs, keeping the wrestling aspects of their personal lives to a minimum. This is mostly shown to the audience through the eyes of Kevin, whose mental state is often tested with every passing issue he and his family end up facing. Because of this, the audience feels like they are actually part of the family, suffering along with them as more problems arise. As someone who doesn't follow professional wrestling, I was pleased to see that Durkin chose this approach and that I was able follow this story without any prior knowledge of the sporting jargon or terminology. With that said, Durkin is highly effective at showing how the Von Erichs rely heavily on this sport to support their livelihood, which becomes problematic as further tragedies start to mount.
Continuing his streak of playing interesting characters, Zac Efron is a major standout in the role of Kevin Von Erich, which is easily one of his best performances so far. It's truly heart-wrenching to watch as Kevin grapples with not only maintaining his tough wrestler image but also fighting through his depression as a result of having so many terrible things happening around him at the same time. Each of Kevin's brothers face multiple problems after another, leading him to believe that the Von Erich curse might just be real after all. Efron does a great job showing Kevin's conflicted emotional state, ranging from suppressed sadness to a fleeting optimism that his luck may eventually improve. Without spoiling too much, Kevin and the rest of his family have a bittersweet conclusion that is sure to evoke strong feelings of sadness in even the most hardened viewer.
Worth mentioning as well is Holt McCallany as Fritz, the Von Erich patriarch whose influence over his family has helped them remain relevant even to this day. As mentioned earlier, I was pleased to see that Fritz is actually depicted as a mostly positive role model for his sons, always supporting their chosen career paths and never giving up on them whenever things turn ugly. However, as a compromise, he does not allow the boys to show any outward sadness if something awful ever happens within the family, causing them all to bottle up their emotions instead. This leads to some rather heated scenes that arise from the boys' inability to properly express their grief, which add to the increasing problems the family must deal with in relation to the curse. Regardless, Fritz is still the best possible father to be in this position of power, and McCallany's believable performance is one of the key reasons the character works so well in this film.
Even if you aren't a fan of wrestling, "The Iron Claw" still functions on its own as a gripping family drama that manages to hit all of the right emotional cues. Although it remains up for debate whether the curse is actually real, there's no denying the Von Erichs have had their fair share of catastrophes over the years, to the point where it could even be considered an epidemic. At the end of the day, it was their own resilience that allowed them to rise above these obstacles to become one of the most respected families in the entire sport of wrestling. If that's not a subject worthy of a film, then I don't know what is.
I rate it 8.5/10.
In 1979 in Texas, former professional wrestler Jack "Fritz" Von Erich (Holt McCallany) owns and operates the wrestling company "World Class Championship Wrestling" (WCCW). Fritz is married to his wife Doris (Maura Tierney) and has five sons; Jack Jr, who died in infancy, Kevin (Zac Efron), David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), and Mike (Stanley Simons). Following in their father's footsteps, Kevin and David choose to wrestle professionally, with the former eventually being crowned the Texas Heavyweight Champion. After Kevin starts a relationship with a local woman named Pam (Lily James), he informs her of the "Von Erich curse", which is believed to have started after the unfortunate death of his older brother Jack Jr as a young child due to his father changing the family name Adkisson to his mother's maiden name. Over the course of the following decade, the Von Erich brothers experience several misfortunes and accidents that give weight to this theoretical curse, but the family remains determined to preserve their legacy for all the right reasons.
Whether you believe in curses or not, it's hard to ignore the alarming amount of bad luck the Von Erich family have experienced since their foray into the world of wrestling. Without going into too much detail, it is clear that the legacy of the Von Erichs will be somewhat tarnished by a series of unfortunate events that almost destroyed everything the family patriarch Fritz had built over several years. In spite of so many things going wrong for them, the Von Erich family still managed to leave a notable impact within the sport of wrestling, as even to this day they remain a force to be reckoned with. Named after the family's signature wrestling move, the film "The Iron Claw" delves into the Von Erich dynasty by examining their achievements and the tragic circumstances that befell them during their prime.
As is necessary in any family drama, the film is told to us from the different perspectives of the Von Erichs during certain points of the story. For instance, in the beginning, we see how Fritz views the life choices his sons wish to make regarding their respective career paths. Though initially reluctant to have them do what he did, Fritz decides to support and later train Kevin and David to be the very best wrestlers capable of carrying on the family legacy. It is here we see Fritz balancing his fatherly duties with that of a determined coach, pushing his sons to the very limits of their wellbeing while also trying to remain a positive paternal figure in their lives. In most other sports dramas, the father character is often abusive and neglects the personal feelings of his children for the sake of his own gain, but here it is refreshing to see that Fritz is a genuinely loving parent who never forces his sons to do what they would never want on their own terms. Instead, he allows them to work out any of their differences in more constructive ways rather than destructive.
Similarly, we also watch Kevin, who is now the oldest child by default, take on his elder brotherly duties by working to make a name for both himself and the rest of his family. Being a firsthand witness to the damage this curse is capable of causing, Kevin understands how important it is for him to work extra hard to prevent any further misfortune from occurring to his younger siblings. In addition to this, he constantly feels the pressure to become the World Heavyweight Champion, not only from his father, but also out of personal obligation to overcome his family's alleged curse. Though things seem to be going alright at first, a tragic chain of events start to take place that almost derail everything he had worked towards up until that point. This is where the film shifts its primary focus from Fritz over to Kevin, with the latter finding it increasingly difficult to simultaneously stay focused on wrestling while all of these family tragedies are taking place around him. To make matters worse, other competing wrestling companies start to emerge that pose a major threat to the Von Erich's presence within the community.
At first, you might be forgiven for assuming this film is only about the Von Erich's time in the spotlight as a powerhouse wrestling family, but as the film progresses it becomes a far darker tale of emotional heartbreak. Director Sean Durkin handles this story with the utmost care, never allowing it to descend into a repetitive mess of sad moments and sentimentality. Instead, Durkin chooses to focus on the tight-nit family unit of the Von Erichs, keeping the wrestling aspects of their personal lives to a minimum. This is mostly shown to the audience through the eyes of Kevin, whose mental state is often tested with every passing issue he and his family end up facing. Because of this, the audience feels like they are actually part of the family, suffering along with them as more problems arise. As someone who doesn't follow professional wrestling, I was pleased to see that Durkin chose this approach and that I was able follow this story without any prior knowledge of the sporting jargon or terminology. With that said, Durkin is highly effective at showing how the Von Erichs rely heavily on this sport to support their livelihood, which becomes problematic as further tragedies start to mount.
Continuing his streak of playing interesting characters, Zac Efron is a major standout in the role of Kevin Von Erich, which is easily one of his best performances so far. It's truly heart-wrenching to watch as Kevin grapples with not only maintaining his tough wrestler image but also fighting through his depression as a result of having so many terrible things happening around him at the same time. Each of Kevin's brothers face multiple problems after another, leading him to believe that the Von Erich curse might just be real after all. Efron does a great job showing Kevin's conflicted emotional state, ranging from suppressed sadness to a fleeting optimism that his luck may eventually improve. Without spoiling too much, Kevin and the rest of his family have a bittersweet conclusion that is sure to evoke strong feelings of sadness in even the most hardened viewer.
Worth mentioning as well is Holt McCallany as Fritz, the Von Erich patriarch whose influence over his family has helped them remain relevant even to this day. As mentioned earlier, I was pleased to see that Fritz is actually depicted as a mostly positive role model for his sons, always supporting their chosen career paths and never giving up on them whenever things turn ugly. However, as a compromise, he does not allow the boys to show any outward sadness if something awful ever happens within the family, causing them all to bottle up their emotions instead. This leads to some rather heated scenes that arise from the boys' inability to properly express their grief, which add to the increasing problems the family must deal with in relation to the curse. Regardless, Fritz is still the best possible father to be in this position of power, and McCallany's believable performance is one of the key reasons the character works so well in this film.
Even if you aren't a fan of wrestling, "The Iron Claw" still functions on its own as a gripping family drama that manages to hit all of the right emotional cues. Although it remains up for debate whether the curse is actually real, there's no denying the Von Erichs have had their fair share of catastrophes over the years, to the point where it could even be considered an epidemic. At the end of the day, it was their own resilience that allowed them to rise above these obstacles to become one of the most respected families in the entire sport of wrestling. If that's not a subject worthy of a film, then I don't know what is.
I rate it 8.5/10.