What non-wrestling fans can never seem to grasp about the appeal of wrestling is that at its core, all it is is storytelling. The wrestlers tell stories in the ring, and in the kayfabe world outside of the ring. But every now and then the real-life story collided with the made up reality of wrestling to create shocking, dramatic, and enticing moments in history. Ask any wrestling fan about the Montreal screw job and they’ll proceed to talk at you for the best part of an hour.
But often these moments can be tragic, especially when you go back in time to the more “wild west” period of wrestling, where injuries went untreated, wrestlers would be downing beers and popping pills to cope with the physical strain, and where steroid use was rampant. The Von Erich’s encapsulate this period, not only through this career changing impact on wrestling, but the personal tragedies they suffered through.
One of the biggest strengths of The Iron Claw is how accessible the film is; the Von Erich’s, despite their immense popularity in the 1980’s, have faded into somewhat obscurity even within the wrestling community. While someone like Ric Flair transcended time to still be a well-known name to this date, even for wrestling fans the focus from this time will be on people like Harley Race, Jake Roberts, or the early matches of Mick Foley and Chavo Guerrero. But you can go into The Iron Claw without having ever seen a wrestling match and the film still holds emotional weight. While you could argue that the story itself will always hold emotional weight, the other strength of the film is how genuine it’s reverence for wrestling is. It is clear that writer/director Sean Durkin was a wrestling fan, and this is instrumental in what makes the film so good. Rather than taking a macabre narrative and squeezing it for all its emotional worth, the film comes across as genuinely passionate, and as a result explores the connection between the wrestling and their world.
The driving force of the film is Zac Efron’s performance as Kevin Von Erich. As someone who cleared his childhood calendar to make sure he was home in time to watch the premiere of High School Musical on the Disney Channel back in 2006; I never thought I would see Efron give a performance of this calibre. I’ve seen Efron in films since then, of course, and while he has pretty good comedic timing, I don’t think anyone could have predicted him carrying a dramatic performance of this kind with such expertise. He is, of course, supported by a tremendous supporting cast (which I’ll get to), as the main character he holds the focus in most of the film’s most pivotal scenes and delivers consistently. Kevin goes through a range of emotions, highs and lows, joy and despair, and Efron expertly manages to control the narrative through these scenes. He captures the minor details of what Kevin is experiencing in such a way that you honestly wouldn’t think Efron would be capable of (and I’m sorry if this comes across as a dig at Efron but it’s true). The scene where Kevin is playing with his sons at the end of the film is so devastatingly powerful and Efron eschews all the expectations and career baggage to produce a career-best moment that stands out amid a great film. It really is the type of performance where you think, any sane producer in Hollywood must be vying for Efron’s attention to pivot his career into more serious, character driven roles.
As mentioned, the supporting cast more than carries their share. I’ll be honest, I’m not a big Lily James fan, I have nothing against her but nothing she’s done has really blown me away. And if I’m honest The Iron Claw isn’t the “oh I get it now” moment for me, but it’s still a performance that is stronger than any of her other films for me. The rest of the Von Erich family is where the supporting case thrives; Jeremy Allen White is having his career boom with the success of The Bear, and I hope this brings eyes to the film as White is fantastic as Kerry Von Erich. Kerry is an especially complex figure given what he experienced (despite it being a historical fact I don’t want to give away “spoilers”), and the emotional turmoil that starts with his failed Olympic career and ends with a fading stardom in the newly established WWF is one that is both complicated and tragic. White excels in the tender moments, the listless vacancy, and the outbursts of anger, and his performance really demonstrates why he is quickly becoming a hot property in Hollywood. Lastly I want to mention Harris Dickinson, who plays David Von Erich. A few days before seeing The Iron Claw I watched Scrapper which also features Dickinson. In Scrapper Dickinson is electric, and not being familiar with him before this I was thoroughly impressed, and this continued in Iron Claw. He’s definitely a name to watch as I think between these two 2023 releases, he’s only going to continue on the upward trend if he carries on these performances.
Going back to Durkin’s passion for wrestling. This translates to all areas of the film, the production design and costumes are brilliant. Especially if you’re familiar with old-school wrestling the attention to detail on the costumes (like Kevin wrestling barefoot, or Ric Flair’s fantastic robes). But even in the re-creation of the Sportatorium, all the wrestling scenes feel lifted from the archival footage, and when you add the classic overlays and graphics, the passion comes across clearly. But unlike the static blurry footage that has survived of old matches, the dynamic cinematography brings the wrestling to life. Every hit on the ring carries weight, and the bright lighting of the arena constrates perfectly with the often drab and dreary moments of reflection and sadness outside the ring.
My main qualm with the film comes in the second act of the film, during the period where Kerry reaches the proverbial “white whale” for the family; that is the World Heavyweight Championship title. While I thought the decision not to show the match itself was a stroke of genius, preparing for the imminent emptiness that the title actually brings Kerry; this whole section felt undernourished, especially as a period of such importance the film seems to breeze through this section without giving it time to breathe. The other qualm I have (but this is purely from a Wrestling fan perspective) is the lack of the Fabulous Freebirds. For those who don’t know the feud between the two stables is one of wrestling legend, captivating the Texas wrestling scene and being often talked about as one of the most important feuds in wrestling history. While they are present in one match, I would have liked to have seen this pivotal career moment for all involved being given a little bit more focus, but I admit this is me being a wrestling nerd and not an actual criticism of the film.
While The Iron Claw is missing from this year’s award season, and to be fair I think this is due to the timings of when it was released, it is not a film that should be overlooked. Given that all involved are all at a relative infancy in their careers, I think this will be looked upon as an important marker in their legacies. It brings life to an almost-forgotten wrestling dynasty, as well as highlighting an important story about the perils of passion, especially when that passion stems from a desire to placate an emotionally unavailable mentor.
A Fistful of Film 