The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s.
Chuck says:
If you didn’t know any better, you’d likely think the phrase, “If I didn’t have bad luck, I’d have no luck at all,” was coined to describe the experiences of the Von Erich family. A multi-generational clan of wrestlers, they would climb to the pinnacle of success within the sport, yet the personal cost for the fame and fortune that came their way proved too much. With “The Iron Claw,” writer/director Sean Durkin portrays this familial saga, one started and dominated by a driven patriarch who is blind to the psychological abuse he is inflicting on his sons.
Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany) was always a dreamer, hoping to one day dominate the world of professional wrestling, a goal he regrettably fell short of achieving. As such, he pushed his sons into the world he loved so much, hoping they would be able to get further than he did. Pounding into their heads from an early age that if they were physically strong nothing could hurt them. Of course, his three sons, Kevin (Zac Efron), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) and David (Harrison Dickinson) find, with tragic results, that this is far from the truth.
The film charts the rise of the three boys through the wrestling ranks, where they find a degree of success that proves fleeting. Kevin says at one point that he always thought his family was cursed and unfortunately, a series of tragedies bear this out. The United States’ boycott of the 1980 Olympics, physical setbacks, and bouts of substance abuse plague them over the course of two decades, the family crumbling in the face of what seems like a non-stop assault. Fritz’s insistence that every setback can be overcome and his blindness to the emotional and psychological trauma he inflicts upon them with his constant hectoring proves their undoing.
While Durkin’s adherence to the facts is commendable, the film eventually becomes nothing more than a series of traumatic scenes. To be sure, a timeline had to be adhered to and there’s a great deal to cover in the film’s little over two hour running time, but this goes from being compelling to a chore. You can only wring the hearts of your viewers so often and Durkin simply goes to the well too often. Instead of being moved by the Von Erich’s plight, I ended up being numb to their suffering.
The cast does a fine job, Efron and White, each transforming their bodies to meet the physical demands of their roles, delivering as well during the film’s more emotional moments. Maura Tierney is a standout as the long-suffering matriarch of the family, her quiet pain and unspoken of hurt an effective throughline. To be sure, “The Iron Claw” is a well-made film, however it’s in need of a few more signs of hope in addition to the fleeting moment provided at the end.
2 1/2 Stars
