I grew up as a wrestling fan, watching along weekly during some points. Only through lockdown did I discover the plethora of personal stories that are told about the competitors. I have watched documentaries upon documentaries about the sport, and they all share one common thread, they’re devastating. The Iron Claw follows that theme, detailing the real life story of the Von Erich wrestling family. The family are well known for their impact on early 1980s wrestling, spanning back to the influence that Fritz Von Erich gave in the 1950s / 1960s. While the film takes some creative liberties with the story, it displays one of dynasty and expectation through a patriarchal lens that created a “cursed” environment for an entire generation of this family. It deals with the emotion delicately with a career best performance from Zac Efron and a stellar supporting cast around him.
We open the film with some black and white photography, showing Fritz Von Ericch (Holt McCallany) performing in the ring, using his special move to win the match, The Iron Claw. We see him exiting the arena to greet his kids and wife. Here we get our insight into Fritz’s mindset as he buys a car they can’t afford in order to impress and strive for more success.
We jump forward in time to see Kevin Von Erich (Zac Efron) waking up. He’s in his 30s and has joined the professional wrestling career. His brother David (Harris Dickinson) is gearing up to make his in ring debut and continue his father’s legacy. We also meet Mke (Stanley Simons) who is more musically inclined than wrestling. Fritz lays out his disappointment in this with a very matter of fact ranking of his sons, letting Mike know that it can change depending on how he impresses him in the future.
The family dynamic is revealed to us in moments like these, as we see Fritz as an undoubtable influence on the boys, pushing them into the sport of wrestling to the point where you’re not quite sure if it's what they really want to do with their lives. Fritz is living his life through his sons, they’re successes are making up for his failures.
Dorris (Maura Tierney) is the matriarch of the family and deeply religious. Her character is distant from the family, as if she has been muted by the time spent with her husband. Her lack of input on the family is felt, as the boys spend most of their time training with their father.
Kerry Von Erich (Jeremy Allen-White) is the other brother, holding 2nd in the brother rankings. He is gearing up to compete in the Olympics before the US decides to not enter the games due to Russia’s invasion of neighbouring nations.
Kerry’s setback and fallback into wrestling is probably the saddest as we see his dreams get crushed and his focus shift to something that he never chose.
Details like this make The Iron Claw such a heavy watch, as you take in the context of the story and what’s going on around it. The story is focused on the wrestling journey of Kevin, while also delving into the lives of the family around it. This allows it to have a main objective, following the arc, while giving the context and fleshing out the characters in the meantime. As we spend so much time with Kevin, I do think we lose some of the time we could be spending on other aspects of the family. Although considering the runtime of the film, it breezes by, even with the tragedy of their story bringing the mood down.
This sadness is felt throughout, as you join the family in quite a pivotal point. I do think even with the low tone of the story, you get enough levity and the chemistry between actors means that you can appreciate the good moments they have.
On the flip side of that, the relationships are done so well that anything happening to any of the characters is felt immensely, meaning I did shd a few tears throughout the film. It all wraps up in a satisfying conclusion and gives you the updates on how the members of the family are doing today.
I enjoy films based on real life that lay out the current day goings on of the cast. It feels like a full conclusion to the story you just watched. While I think the content of the story is something I connected with, the messaging or subject of the film also spoke to me. With Fritz being such a dominant feature in the mens' lives, you see them affected by his affection in different ways, all putting pressure on themselves to outperform and fight for his approval. There are moments when he gives that craved approval and you can see the relief in the brothers that they have done him proud. This also causes toxicity within themselves, rarely ever spilling out to cause a rift in their relationships. This strength is all external as they are internally struggling but afraid to be outspoken about it.
The film is pretty dense with the subtleties of these struggles manifesting, through drugs, depression and running away from facing their trauma.
The acting in the film feels like the standout element, I mentioned the relationships, which combines the writing with the seamless bond that seems to be shared by the brothers. I think for me, the strongest relationship was the one shared by Kevin and David. They had a fraternal ease that was believable and warm throughout the film. Pointing this out doesn’t diminish the rest of the cast, because I don’t think there was a weak member in the ensemble.
Lily James plays Pam, who Kevin meets early on in the film and develops a relationship with her. Their bond is also something I think is special in the film and the steadiness of their relationship once they are with each other is really something that we the audience can cling on to.
The acting goes beyond relationships as a lot of the performers did the wrestling seen in the film, choreographed by a professional wrestler Chavo Guerrero Jr. He does such a good job in creating the tension felt during wrestling matches, and through the camera work and editing, we expand on that tension to actually care about the outcome of each match shown on screen.
The camera work extends beyond the wrestling as it has a sepia tone throughout, playing a lot in the golden hour for a warmth. The interior scenes, particularly in the locker room have a very fluorescent hue to them, with the green tint that you see in a lot of films from that time period.
They also stick to the 80s theme and have a lot of the style of wrestling be plucked from the time, as well as the on screen graphics and ringside commentators of the time. The authenticity of the wrestling segments is translated throughout the film, giving it such emotional depth that feels like it has been really thought through.
I had my eye on The Iron Claw for a long time and was anticipating its release. With the cast behind it and it being backed by A24, it seemed like it couldn’t miss. I have been burned by these expectations before but was so relieved to walk out of my screening having felt something and being impressed by the film. I welcome more of these tragic sports story, I know there are a lot where that came from. I think with the right approach, they can be incredibly impactful and really important, especially in the ways of traditional masculinity and the lineage of expectations.
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