With awards season well under way, ‘The Iron Claw’, from writer director Sean Durkin, is a movie that should have gained a lot of buzz. It’s an epic and gripping drama, with Zac Efron delivering a powerhouse leading performance that deserved some recognition from the industry. It may have slipped under their nominations radar, but I urge you all to catch ‘The Iron Claw’ now that it’s finally arrived onto these shores. A stunning, sobering and sincere story that proves the old adage than fact is far stranger than fiction, ‘The Iron Claw’ tells the remarkable, sensational and deeply tragic story of one of the greatest wrestling families of all time – the Von Erichs.
Wrestling in the United States has always been big business, and in the late 70s & 80s especially it enjoyed a particularly successful surge in popularity thanks to the likes of the then WWF (now WWE) showcasing some amazing, larger-than-life characters. But in the early days, the country was split into wrestling territories, with Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany) a driven and dedicated former wrestler turned promotor looking to gain success in the industry under his World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) stable.
His four sons follow in the family business including Kevin (Zac Efron), David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (‘The Bear’ star Jeremy Allen White) and Mike (Stanley Simons). At this point, it’s hard to overstate just how popular and influential the Von Erich family were at the time. They were idols – not just of devoted wrestling fans, but they transcended into pop culture as teen idols and Texas’ favourite sons. But the immense pressures placed on the family by patriarch Fritz leads to a tragic and cursed narrative that would haunt the Von Erich’s forever.
Zac Efron delivers a career-best performance with an emotionally charged and deeply affecting turn as Kevin Von Erich. The film is mainly told from his perspective as we follow his own path to wrestling glory and the doubts that plague his future. His physical onscreen transformation is impressive in its own right, but his acting really engages the audience here, giving the role a quiet melancholy that’s hard not to empathise with. He shares a beautiful chemistry with Lily James as his girlfriend and eventual wife Pam, and a nicely observed mother-son dynamic too with Maura Tierney as Doris Von Erich, a loving but distant and blinkered wife who doesn’t do enough to protect her sons from their father’s domineering.
The amazing ensemble delivers a huge emotional gut-punch and all really impress in ‘The Iron Claw’, doing each family member justice. Jeremy Allen White is excellent as Kerry Von Erich, who many will know as The Texas Tornado during the WWF’s golden era of 1990-91. In fact we should have seen much more of Kerry’s life played out in the film. Stanley Simons does really well as Mike, the youngest of these four Von Erich brothers who most keenly feels the pressures of the family business. But for me, Harris Dickinson is absolutely magnetic as David Von Erich, with the British actor absolutely nailing his role to perfection and giving the brothers a calming constant to always come back to when times get rough. All four of these actors share a brilliant chemistry and are a huge part to why ‘The Iron Claw’ is such an affecting drama.
Physical transformations for film roles aren’t a new thing, but special mention has to go to the cast who have really transformed their physiques into a true representation of their sporting counterparts. The Von Erich brothers were known for their amazing physical prowess, so having Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson, Jeremy Allen White and Stanley Simons really commit to their roles helps this film out immensely. The physicality of the role and seeing these actors perfectly capture the essence and magic of the Von Erich brothers so accurately in the film was a real joy to see. Their comradery as brothers also feels very genuine and real between the cast, which also helps us as the audience to really get behind their family dynamic and champion their causes.
With all biopics, there are often omissions that take place for the sake of the story unfolding onscreen, but the absence of Chris Von Erich entirely from ‘The Iron Claw’ is a big omission that feels odd. Writer/Director Sean Durkin had his reasons for not including Chris into his narrative (which I won’t go into for spoiler reasons as they affect parts of this story). He was included in earlier drafts of the screenplay but was ultimately omitted. So that was a disappointment, but it doesn’t affect the overall take away from watching ‘The Iron Claw’. It still tells its story exceptionally well.
A brilliantly acted and hard-hitting film with an amazing ensemble that will impress both the uninitiated and true wrestling aficionados equally, ‘The Iron Claw’ is one of the best films of the year and easily one of the greatest wrestling dramas ever made. A fitting ode to the Von Erich legacy with a story that grips you like a vice, it delivers a powerslam of emotion at every turn, with one of the best ensembles you’ll see all year, ‘The Iron Claw’ is an unflinching account of unbelievable tragedy, but also an uplifting tale of heartfelt brotherhood and the hope that can spring from dire circumstance.
Cast: Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson, Jeremy Allen White, Stanley Simons, Holt McCallany, Lily James, Maura Tierney Director: Sean Durkin Writer: Sean Durkin Certificate: 15 Duration: 132 mins Released by: Lionsgate Release date: 9th February 2024
