Two things have happened as wrestling has grown in popularity over the decades. One, more and more people have been available to point out how obviously fake it all is, especially when it comes to ongoing storylines and twists and turns on the road to crowning champions for different events. Two, more and more people have been available to point out that it takes a hell of a lot of physical skill and strength to sell that fakery. Real injuries happen all of the time, some of them a lot worse than others, and career wrestlers know just how much blood, sweat, and tears they have left in the ring after years of fighting to entertain hungry crowds. Sometimes it's just enough. Sometimes it's far too much.
The Iron Claw is a tale of wrestling, in a way. It's a look at the Von Erichs, a family who seemed to be cursed, and shows how the male members of that family were worn down over the years by the physical toll of their lifestyles, the pressures put upon them, and sometimes just one bad decision leading to the worst possible outcome. There's pain throughout almost every scene, and the moments that are pain-free feel threatened by some as-yet-unseen train hurtling down the tracks to crash and upend multiple lives.
The third feature from writer-director Sean Durkin, The Iron Claw may seem like it's only for a niche audience, but it actually works well for anyone who has felt that pressure to do something that they didn't always love. That pressure may come from parents, as it so often does, or it may come from siblings. It could come from a loving partner, it could come from those trying to influence your career decisions to deliver a desired outcome. And sometimes, even with those other voices silenced, it comes from within. While The Iron Claw IS about wrestling, it's equally about that internal voice, and the struggle to deal with it.
Holt McCallany does a very good job as the patriarch, a man who thinks he knows what is best for his sons and maintains constant pressure on them to try and be the best they can be. He's a human steamroller, but remains loved by his children long after the damage he has caused finally starts to become clear. The film rests on the broad and muscular shoulders of Zac Efron though, who is put on display in his very first scene in a way that displays his incredible transformation into some kind of man-mountain. Efron can act, of course, but his commitment to embodying Kevin Von Erich here leads to what is arguably his best ever dramatic performance. Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, and Stanley Simons are the three other main Von Erich boys shown onscreen, with all of them doing well enough to share the screen with McCallany and/or Efron, and both Maura Tierney and Lily James do their best as the main women orbiting a small planet of dense musculature and toxic masculinity.
Like many a film based on real life events, some truths have been omitted and some of the timeline has been moved around, but that doesn't stop this from being very effective and informative, much like the best documentaries. I think those already familiar with the story will find a lot to appreciate here, even if they pick up on certain errors or scenes that they feel don't quite represent things with 100% accuracy, and those who know much less about the wrestling world, like myself, will be moved by it, and maybe interested in diving a little deeper into the true story.
Don't put this on when you're not prepared for it, mentally. It's a rough, draining, experience, and runs for just over two hours. But do steel your resolve to tackle it one day. It's a majorly impressive work, thanks to Durkin making a number of smart choices and a cast who go as far as they can to present their characters with authenticity, in both their bodies and their souls.
8/10
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