The Iron Claw

Director: Sean Durkin
Starring: Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Maura Tierney, Stanley Simons, Holt McCallany, Michael J. Harney, Lily James, Brady Pierce, Aaron Dean Eisenberg, Kevin Anton, Cazzey Louis Cereghino, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Ryan Nemeth, Scott Innes
Running Time: 132 min.
Rating: R

**The Following Review Contains Plot Spoilers For 'The Iron Claw' **

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

Watching Sean Durkin's The Iron Claw you can't help but wonder how differently the film plays for casual viewers as opposed to wrestling fans already well versed in the Von Erich story. The uninitiated are likely to be shocked, scratching their heads in disbelief at how this continuous string of tragedies struck one family in such a short period of time. But even ardent followers numb to the depths of despair that define this industry would admit what happened to them stings worse than anything before or since. 

Only when A24 announced the project did the enormity of Durkin's task come into view, with many focusing on how inaccessible it would be. But of the three films he's directed, it's probably the most accessible, weaving a complex and multi-faceted narrative about a very specific form of entertainment into a shattering meditation on damaged families. If everyone thought this was just too damn sad to make into a movie the public would willingly see, Durkin proves them wrong, but the hardest part was always going to be fitting it all in.

There's the challenge of pacing out numerous deaths over the course of a two hour and thirteen minute film, making us care equally for these fallen siblings, choosing what gets left out and casting actors that do justice to their real life counterparts. The results are all over the map and intriguing to examine, but what's less debatable is this idea of a "Von Erich curse" that's frequently debunked throughout. The brothers' fates were instead controlled by a strict, controlling father determined to make their sons champions so they'd always be protected. Unfortunately, no one was there to protect them from him. He's the real curse.

It's 1979 and Texas NWA Heavyweight Champion Kevin Von Erich (Zac Efron) is being pushed by his father, former wrestler and WCCW owner and promoter Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany), as the promotion's top draw and forthcoming contender to the prestigious NWA World Championship. Shortly after, brother David (Harris Dickinson) makes his promising debut, teaming with Kevin and rising up the ranks quickly enough to possibly displace him. 

While Kevin begins dating fan and future wife Pam (Lily James), younger brother Kerry's (Jeremy Allen White) 1980 Summer Olympic hopes are dashed after the U.S. boycott the games, causing him to move back to the family ranch. It isn't long before Fritz recruits him into the ring and also pressures shy, awkward youngest son Mike (Stanley Simons), who shows little aptitude between the ropes and prefers playing with a band than following in his siblings' footsteps. 

With the Dallas Sportatorium selling out and TV ratings going through the roof, the Von Erich brothers become overnight celebrities as their battles against The Fabulous Freebirds heat up the territory. But when unimaginable tragedy strikes multiple times, Fritz doubles down in his quest to bring the title into this family, whatever the cost, leaving an emotionally catatonic Kevin to watch in stunned silence as his brothers perish one by one.

If pro wrestling has a long history of promoters controversially pushing their offspring, the Von Erichs are outliers in that their natural ability warranted it, save for Mike. But this making great business sense isn't Fritz's only motivation, as all his decisions spawn from his misguided desire to vicariously live through his sons, who he believes can bring home the NWA title he was supposedly screwed out of holding. In a black and white flashback to open the film he tells wife Doris (Maura Tierney) and a young Kevin and David about building a new life for this family, which his self-serving intentions  eventually sabotage.

When Fritz sits at the kitchen table casually ranking all his sons in order of preference, he's not joking. Kevin's the athlete, David's the talker, Kerry's the favorite with charisma to spare and Mike's just a back-up plan. But he doesn't care who gets the championship, his view of their interchangeability becoming more apparent with each tragedy. Durkin might skip over a lot, but the acknowledgment of Fritz's first-born son Jack's accidental death isn't one of them. An unseen catastrophe that shaped this demanding patriarch in the ugliest of ways, his desire to replace him never waned, causing the other boys to pay the price. 

The decision to omit real life youngest brother Chris and merge details of his story into Mike's might raise eyebrows, but with the film's pacing already compromised by needing to cram so much in, the choice seems understandable. Though some character development is adversely affected when all these events run into each other, Mike's awful plight is an exception, zeroing in on Fritz's determination to shove him into a profession he isn't physically or mentally equipped for.

The period details of a packed Sportatorium and the entire atmosphere surrounding the Von Erichs' rise to prominence in the early 80's is displayed in full glory. This also extends to the recreation of WCCW's weekly television program, with its innovative use of entrance music (like Rush's "Tom Sawyer" for Kerry) and groundbreaking camera angles that continued influencing major promotions long after their doors permanently closed. Everything's here in bits and pieces, including Michael J. Harney's small but  authentic turn as longtime company announcer Bill Mercer. 

The actors are all believable inside the squared circle, with skillful editing and lots of training likely giving a big assist. With a surprising amount of time donated to in-ring action, we see the most from Efron as Kevin in matches with Harley Race (Kevin Anton) and Ric Flair (Aaron Dean Eisenberg), both of whom are distractingly impersonated. And even if Efron doesn't really resemble Kevin and clearly went overboard in bulking up to play the way leaner, barefooted grappler, he sure looks and moves like a wrestler on that mat.  

Giving a performance within a performance, there's this moment during the Race match where Kevin appears to be hurt, but we can't be sure. Is Efron really this good at making it look like Kevin's selling this or is he supposed to actually be hurt? It's enough to make your brain explode, but the movie hardly shies away from exploring the line between fiction and reality that pro wrestlers straddle. An early conversation between Kevin and Pam finds the former delivering about as succinct an explanation for what they do as a skeptic could possibly get. Ask Fritz and you're more likely to hear a lecture on how backstage politics dictate everything, which would seem especially rich coming from him. 

While the film justifiably centers around the shell shocked Kevin, Harris Dickinson might give the most factually accurate portrayal as David and not just because of the English actor's uncanny resemblance to the tall, lanky uncrowned champ. He really seems to grasp every facet of this when he's on screen and his bathroom talk with Kevin ranks as one of the film's more subtly powerful scenes. 

Kerry isn't introduced right away so Jeremy Allen White has some catching up to do on top of the fact he's playing the most famous Von Erich. And since Kerry looked like a chiseled superhero, Durkin makes the right call in de-emphasizing the far smaller White's ring scenes, opting instead to focus on his turmoil outside of it. White excels at this, letting the film mercifully use actual footage of Kerry's two most important matches to spare us another extended Flair imitation. The timeline may be a little wonky, but the motorcycle accident that took his foot is covered, as are allusions to his drug-riddled WWF run. Despite being the only brother to make it there, the bloom was off the rose by that point, accelerating his downward spiral. 

Something about Stanley Simons' performance as Mike grabs hold early and doesn't let go, bringing a contemplative innocence we haven't seen in previous accounts of Mike's ordeal. And it's probably time to call Richard Reed Parry and Little Scream's original song "Live That Way Forever" one of the bigger Oscar snubs of the year. Performed by Simons in the film, it slides perfectly onto a soundtrack of 70's classics from Tom Petty, Blue Oyster Cult and John Denver.  

Journeyman character actor and Mindhunter star Holt McCallany plays Fritz without judgment, embodying the master of the Iron Claw as a ruthless stage dad from hell who's convinced himself that this psychological abuse is just a form of "tough love" for his boys. While there isn't nearly enough time for the film to delve into the full extent of Fritz's monstrous acts, McCallany's powerful performance still manages to imply the remainder of them, as each subsequent tragedy prompts him to continue filling the bottomless pit that exists inside his rotting soul. 

As Doris, Maura Tierney is sort of invisible, which is exactly who the devoutly religious matriarch proved to be, silently supporting whatever her husband does. Lily James' role as Pam is slightly larger than you'd expect, her character often acting as the voice of reason as Kevin starts to buy into the potential validity of this curse.  

There's plenty we don't get, like Fritz's insulting introduction of phony Von Erich cousin Lance (AEW wrestler Maxwell Jacob Friedman in a whittled down cameo) or that infamous Pizza Inn commercial with Mike, Kevin and Kerry. And while there are scenes of their hard partying, most of the excessive drug use is skimmed over enough that the viewer will need to connect the dots. It's easy to imagine the existence of a longer cut somewhere that works to fill in those blanks.

Durkin makes a conscious choice not to show all the grisly details of these deaths as this whole experience culminates in an emotionally wrenching afterlife scene you'll have trouble shaking. The Iron Claw covers a lot of ground well, even if it's the type of narrative that might be better served by the expanded scope of a limited series or documentary. But considering how much is already out there, this still cuts to the heart of it, prompting those completely unfamiliar with Von Erichs to continue digging deeper.