4/5
The Iron Claw tells the true story of the Von Erich wresting dynasty and the ‘curse’ said to plague them. It’s a familiar tale — a frustrated father, unable to achieve his dream, in this case of becoming world heavyweight champion, who uses his children to vicariously earn a second chance.
Fritz Von Erich, brilliantly played by Holt McCallany, is a crew-cut golem of a man, more drill sergeant than parent, whose sons usually refer to him as ‘sir’. Eldest son Kevin (Zac Ephron) is the main wrestling protégé, whilst his brother David (Harris Dickinson), is training for his ring debut. Completing the family are Olympian-in-training Kerry (Jeremy Allen White, AKA your girlfriend’s favourite actor) and youngest brother and aspiring musician Michael (Stanley Simmons). Fritz openly tells his sons who his favourites are but reminds them “the rankings can always change.” The moment plays as a joke, but it must sting for the least-favourite son (Michael, who didn’t get the wrestling gene). Despite this powder-keg for fraternal rivalry, the boys are devoted to each other. They eat, sleep, workout, and practice their suplexes together.
The brothers’ trajectory starts to accelerate when David, a gifted trash-talker, becomes Kevin’s tag-team partner, his charisma bringing scores of adoring fans. Harris Dickinson might not be as hulking as his co-stars, but he more than makes up for it with a magnetic presence, stealing every scene he is in. The relationship between the brothers is subtly drawn, conveying a lot with small gestures and minimal dialogue. As befitting a wrestling picture, there is a sense of physicality to all the performances: Fritz’s most devastating move isn’t the titular ‘iron claw’ grip, but the way he scowls and crosses his arms in dissatisfaction.
Kevin is the heart of the film (Efron looking absolutely jacked out his tree), watching with frustration as his younger brother supersedes him in the pecking order. Following the American boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the taciturn Kerry joins his brothers in the ring, and together they take the wrestling world by storm. But the cracks begin to show: pro-wrestling’s results may be staged, but the brothers’ athletic fetes take a brutal toll on their bodies, and David and Kerry develop a taste for partying. Kevin watches from the sideline, his heart promised to local girl Pam (Lily James).
A key moment sees Pam playfully ask Kevin how he can ‘win’ a title, when wrestling is ‘fake’. Kevin explains that wrestlers are rewarded on the quality of their performances — and the Von Erichs leave it all out in the ring, night after night. The Iron Claw reminds us why the ‘combat’ sports biopic is such fertile ground for drama, as the action in the ring becomes an extension of the emotional violence at home. It can’t be an accident that the opening black and white sequence of Fritz beating on a rival echoes Raging Bull. Besides the action, the period setting is sumptuously brought to life: during a tracking shot through a parking lot before a wrestling show, the audience can practically smell the beer and feel the heat of the Texan summer. Scorsese-like touches abound, from the rollocking montage of the Von Erichs on tour, to the close-ups of Kevin’s feet pounding the mat as he practices.
Just as the Von Erichs seem poised to conquer the world, things take a turn for the worse, and the family is beset with one calamity after another. At just over two hours, the film doesn’t overstay its welcome, but the latter half of the story feels rushed. We barely have time to process one disaster before the next one hits. Jeremy Allen White gives a committed performance, but Kerry isn’t fully fleshed out as a character, the frustration he feels at Olympic glory being snatched away seemingly glazed over. By the end of the film we don’t know much about him, other than the fact that he is in enormous pain, both physical and emotional.
Although we are told the story of the whole family, the focus is absolutely on Kevin. Efron’s performance is quietly devastating, as with mere glances he conveys a man struggling to control a maelstrom of emotions, which he doesn’t truly allow himself to feel until the film’s climax. The Iron Claw is both a warning about the pitfalls of extreme masculinity and a paean to fraternal love. I left the cinema ready to hit the gym and hug the boys.
Looking for more like this? Check out: Raging Bull, The Wrestler, …All The Marbles, Dazed & Confused
Mark It Zero 