The Iron Claw - Movie Review
The Iron Claw - Movie Review
Critics Score - 8 of 10
General Audience Score - 8 of 10
SYNOPSIS - We begin with the words “Inspired By A True Story” arriving white against the black screen, then a black and white sequence follows as a wrestling ring in the middle of an arena becomes illuminated by overhead lights. A second shot of Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany) begins to overlap with the initial view of the empty ring, we watch as just his upper shoulders and face begin to take over the screen, his mouth stretched wide in a grimace as he struggles for a moment against an unseen opponent. As the scene changes, we watch another minute or two as Fritz storms around the ring before finally giving his opponent his signature move. The Iron Claw is when he grabs his opponent’s head in his hand and applies pressure, squeezing the man’s skull. After the victory, he holds his claw hand high, parading around the ring before we’re taken to his locker room post-fight. When he emerges from the venue where the event took place, his pregnant wife Doris (Maura Tierney) and two of his boys are waiting for him, the boys come running over to him and he scoops them up in his arms. As they walk to their car, his wife inquires as to what happened to their old car, why there’s a new Cadillac hooked up to the mobile home they live out of. Fritz explains that he’ll make it work, he spoke to the promoter and that he’s gotta look like a wrestling star if he wants to make it big like a star. As Doris continues to express her concern over the purchase, Fritz turns towards his two boys in the back seat as he explains, “The only way to beat it is to be the toughest, the strongest, the most successful, the absolute best.”
After the introductory black and white sequence fades to black, we skip forward in time to when the three oldest boys are now in their early twenties. The film switches to full color and we see some Texas farmland in the early morning light. The scene switches and we see the sleeping Kevin Von Erich (Zac Efron) laying in bed, the old alarm clock immediately beeping is wake up call. As the close up shot of Kevin waking up lingers, he eventually peels the quilt off his impressively sculpted body before the camera gives us a new angle of the room. We watch him get out of bed in his tighty whities and get the full showcase of his chiseled abdominal muscles as he tries to wake his brother up to go for a run. Kevin runs, then lifts weights and finally we start to get glimpses of him in an actual wresting match, the two men grapple with each other for the title of Texas Heavyweight Champion. After winning, Fritz comes out into the ring to congratulate his son, tell him he’s proud of him, but also remind him that “tomorrow your back and working harder than ever.”
The next morning at the breakfast table we meet two of Kevin’s brothers David (Harris Dickinson) and Mike (Stanley Simons) as they eat. This is the first time we get to observe Fritz trying to motivate the skinnier Mike by holding his brother’s successes over him. Fritz’s ability to be a caring provider for his family is only matched by the pressure he puts his children under, constantly instilling in them the desire to seek greatness, following in his wrestling footsteps. This is also where we begin to learn about the bond and love shared between these brothers, their comradery is really something special. They lean on each other for support even while their drive to outperform the others is always hovering over their self-esteem and self-image. But as the film gets into it’s second act, Fritz’s toxic and domineering parenting style of ruling his household with an iron fist, or claw if you will, as he is unquestionable in any decision he makes, well it all eventually begins to take its toll on his sons’ mental stability.
The Iron Claw was written and directed by Sean Durkin, whose direction for the film outshines the perfectly serviceable screenplay. Durkin instills in us the pressure that hangs over the Von Erich boys, to succeed and rise in the admiration and esteem of their father is perfectly conveyed via the dialogue and the way some of the scenes that Fritz speaks with his boys are depicted. The skillful direction of Durkin combined with the acting of Holt McCallany as Fritz provides the basis for the earth shattering events that level this family in the second half of the film. While McCallany is great in his role, his efforts are matched by Efron’s main performance. Besides being totally ripped for the role, the depth and complexities of this character whose world around him is slowly ripped away is showing us a side of Efron’s acting we’ve never seen before. I truly hope he has turned a corner in his career and keeps taking these types of roles and continues working with more serious directors and stories. While the original score by Richard Reed Parry is solid, like the screenplay, it wont be winning any awards or getting any critics prizes. But it does a fine job at keeping pace with the rest of the film as it’s almost classic rock-esque anthems kick in with the highs the movie reaches but then turns more dramatic and melancholic as the film gets into the somber final act. Speaking of pace, the film covers quite a bit of ground in it’s little over two hour run and I never really felt the pacing drag much due to the intelligently structured story. There were several films that got to me this year and moved me to shed some tears, but as I mentioned, The Iron Claw was the saddest. That might not be what you’re looking for over this holiday season, but anytime a film can get me this emotionally invested and care about what I’m seeing to that level, well to me that’s a sign somebody did something right.
SUMMARY - I love hearing about what real people and real families have went though, their life experiences and lessons learned, even when it breaks my heart. General audiences and critics alike will find a wonderfully touching, memorable but utterly heartbreaking experience awaits them when The Iron Claw steps into the ring.
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