The Iron Claw Review
Theatrical Movie Review - Family Drama
Content warning: This film and review discuss suicide. If you or somone you love is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please call 988. Help is available.
My knowledge of professional wrestling is limited, so before seeing writer and director Sean Durkin’s “The Iron Claw,” I looked up information about the Von Erich family. As we see one tragedy after another befall these brothers, it is easy to believe that the Von Erich curse is real. Told with care and an evident love for wrestling, “The Iron Claw” won over even me, someone who has never been a fan of the sport.
The story is largely told from the perspective of Kevin Von Erich (Zac Efron), the not-quite oldest brother of the family, following his older brother's death as a child. Kevin’s father, Fritz (Holt McCallany), was a mid-level wrestler, never able to achieve everything he believed he was owed, so he pushed his four sons toward wresting, regardless of their interests. Kevin and his brother David (Harris Dickinson) seem to enjoy it, but when Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) is unable to compete in the 1980 Olympics, he too is dragged into the family business, with the youngest brother, musician Mike (Stanley Simons), not far behind.
This movie put forth some of the best performances I’ve seen all year. Each actor inhabits the characters they play, and we feel both the joy and pain they experience. From Maura Tierney’s quiet desperation as Doris needing a new dress to wear as she buries her third son to the deep affection that the brothers show to one another to Fritz’s domineering presence that influences every decision the boys make, this movie overflows with spectacular achievements.
While this movie is devastating as it lays out one death after another, it also has some fun and energetic fight sequences. Watching the brothers talk through the moves about to happen and then watching them perform them is a great time. Durkin has a genuine love for the sport, and it manifests in how he describes the process of becoming a world champion wrestler and how he stages the fights. The run-time for the movie is over two hours, but it sails by.
Two of the brothers die by suicide, and while the film never pulls any punches about their deaths, it is handled with compassion and tact. It never felt exploitative. I also appreciated that by the end of the film, it addressed the toxic environment that the brothers grew up in and Kevin's decision to leave a different legacy for his family.
I expect some may leave this movie feeling that it is a bit saccharine in its conclusion, but I found it hopeful. Despite the tragedies and heartache that Kevin experienced, he found a path that diverged from his father’s. Often, we can feel bound by the circumstances we find ourselves in. “The Iron Claw” is a beautiful reminder that our paths are not predetermined – that we can fight our way to something healthy and life-affirming.
This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on December 24, 2023.