“The Iron Claw:” Triumph and Tragedy
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From the movie's first scene, the meaning behind the film's name is introduced, and we get a peek into Fritz Von Erich’s iconic wrestling move that he later passes down to his sons. “Iron Claw,” a wrestling move invented by Fritz, is treated like a family heirloom and eventually leads their family to change the wrestling world forever.
Narrated by the film’s protagonist, Kevin Von Erich (Zac Efron), the family's oldest brother is searching for clarity and meaning through wrestling. Kevin, along with his other three brothers, Kerry (Jeremey Allen White), Mike (Stanly Simons), and David (Harris Dickinson), bond in and out of the ring with their father and go to lengths to please him.
Through the magic of the production design, the audience can come to their conclusions on how the boys might have been raised. Multiple gun cases, family photos on every wall as if it were wallpaper, a small intimate kitchen, and many, many trophies. Fritz and his wife seemed to have raised the boys in a very masculine way. As the film moves forward, the themes of masculinity and pride stay consistent.
David joins his older brother Kevin in the ring under Fritz’s direction to further both of their careers. Their success skyrocketed, and they soon became an unstoppable duo that attracted people to their events more than ever. Eventually, Kerry, David’s younger brother, moves back home, and the duo becomes a trio.
With their raging success as a group, Mike, the youngest brother, has local success in music. Mike, unlike his brothers, chooses to stray away from the slams of the ring and creates music with friends instead.
The movie switches vastly from the Von Erichs’ fortune and fame to tragedy and heartbreak.
Vanity Fair writes, “…the movie behaves like a film, not about entertainers, but about soldiers, harrowed by war…maybe for the Von Erichs, life did feel akin to war; a profoundly unsettled psychology plagued nearly all of them.”
Sean Dirkin, the director and writer of the film, displays the brothers and their unbreakable bond, swiftly immersing the audience in their brotherhood. The ultimate tragic story that Dirkin puts on the silver screen cast perfectly with dedicated actors and creates one of the best biopics of all time.
Efron performs of a lifetime and sets himself up for being known as a serious and committed actor despite his famous role in “High School Musical.” Not only did Efron spend countless hours reaching the body structure of a professional wrestler, but also researched relentlessly and perfected the role.
Since the movie calls for such specificity with everything from costumes to muscles, there was a lot of space for this to be an easy botch. Dirkin pulled off the film by casting talented actors who took us back in time to the world of wrestling in the 80s.
“The Iron Claw” was one of the most captivating movies of the year and exposed how dangerous too much pride and masculinity can be. Fritz was also far from shy to keep his children in the grip of the iron claw, never giving the boys a chance to come up for air.
Though it is a movie about winning, it displays defeat especially well. The ill-fated family’s line of events is so tragic that it is almost unbelievable. “The Iron Claw” wasn’t afraid to play into the big emotions of the movie, dragging the audience through and grieving along with the brothers. The Von Erich family was and remains “ wrestling royalty,” changing the world of wrestling forever.