5.1.24
God, I wish Jeremy Allen White was my big brother too.
With a surprisingly excellent lead performance from Zac Efron in terms of physical prowess and emotional rawness, The Iron Claw does a brilliant job of dramatising the highs and lows of one of professional wrestling entertainment’s most infamous families.
From the opening scene, I thought to myself how nice it is to see Holt McCallany from Mindhunter and Fight Club getting some serious recognition, as I think he is an underutilised, stoic performer with leading-man potential. The narrative focuses rather compassionately on the exploration of family ties, which when seen here are just as powerful and intense as the body slams and suplexes seen in the ring. Also showing the unglamorous side of the industry, aside from Ric Flair popping up as an interesting pseudo-villain, the whole story is admirably restrained, avoiding the tendency to milk the emotion or sensationalise the Von Erich family’s tragedy.
Zac Efron’s portrayal is strong enough to generate Oscar mentions, but whether or not he is nominated, this part illustrates his range better than any previous roles I can think of, probably since The Paperboy. In between all the drama that is observed, Efron as Kevin maintains the most reasonable and modest outlook of all the brothers in the pursuit of glory and recognition. Successfully showcasing a variety of moods and internal struggles manifested, Efron fleshes out a grounded personality which is likely valid to the real-life Von Erich brother, and his family moment in the final scene should bring any feeling human to tears. But with the exception of Kevin, we spend minimal time with the other brothers, with one real-life Von Erich being cut from the story altogether, and learn little beyond their personas outside of the family within the various companies they wrestled in.
Although The Iron Claw doesn’t portray the dramatic lows or true physical toll that wrestling entertainment takes on the body to the same visceral degree as Aronofsky’s The Wrestler, which I just about prefer, this true story nevertheless has a bit of Greek tragedy about it. In the sensitive hands of writer-director Sean Durkin, it is a well-told, and neatly crafted story that stands out as a sports drama with emotional heft and a warning message, with Efron’s performance taking it that extra bit further. As a huge wrestling fan when I was a kid, I knew the Von Erichs suffered some misfortune, and never achieved top billing in the WWE or WCW, but I didn’t grasp how cursed this family truly was. As tragic as that story is, I’m glad to now understand.