‘Iron Claw’ goes down for the count
“Ever since I was a child, people said my family was cursed,” narrates Kevin Von Erich (Zac Efron) at the beginning of writer-director Sean Durkin’s biopic “The Iron Claw.” Durkin chronicles the real-life Von Erich family, considered to be one of the great dynasties in wrestling.
“Dad tried to protect us with wrestling,” Kevin continues. “He said if we were the toughest, the strongest, nothing could ever hurt us. I believed him. We all did.”
So much bad luck befell the Von Erichs that the curse almost seems plausible. Kevin’s brother Jack died in a freak accident at the age of 6. By the end credits, Kevin will be the lone surviving child of former wrestling star Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany) and his wife, Doris (Maura Tierney). Their other adult children, Mike (Stanley Simons), David (Harris Dickinson), and Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), will die young.
(Another Von Erich brother, Chris, is left out of this film. He also died young, at 21.)
Such a tragic story should be told with restraint and populated with strong, memorable characters. By avoiding any exploitative coverage of its sad events, “The Iron Claw” gets the restraint part right.
Unfortunately, Durkin’s script is so shallow that every character is reduced to a simple sketch. Fritz is the tyrannical father who lives vicariously through his sons, pushing them toward his former profession. David is the golden boy whom Fritz thinks can bring home the world championship belt he has coveted since his pro-wrestling days, when he once portrayed an evil German villain. Kevin is the older brother who desperately wants to be the leader.
And Kerry, arguably the most wellknown member of this family because of his time as The Texas Tornado in the World Wrestling Federation, barely registers here. Late in the film, he suffers an injury that threatens his career, but hardly any time is spent on his recovery.
The first hour of “The Iron Claw” sets up the family dynamic. Fritz is a bully who plays favorites, inciting sibling rivalry among his children. Since he never achieved the championship title, he wants one of his sons to bring it home. Hoping to please their father, each of his sons steps into the ring.
But because we never get a glimpse into what any of the wrestlers are thinking, these scenes are without tension and human connection. Even the introduction of Pam (Lily James), a confident woman whom Kevin marries, does little to deepen our understanding of him.
Fortunately, the wrestling match recreations are exceptional. Advised by former wrestler Chavo Guerrero Jr. (who also plays The Sheik), the actors do their own moves inside the ring. They are all suitably beefed up, showing how much work went into their physical transformations. Their commitment pays off; these scenes are intense and exciting. The titular wrestling move, a skull-crushing technique pioneered by Fritz and passed down to his sons, is employed more than once to thrilling effect.
There’s also a great scene — the best in the movie — featuring Aaron Dean Eisenberg as “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, one of the greatest and most recognizable competitors in wrestling. In his short screen time, Eisenberg does a stunning imitation of Flair and, as the Nature Boy often did in real life, delivers a gigantic jolt of energy.
However, once the film shifts focus to the fates of Mike, David, and Kerry, “The Iron Claw” becomes far less involving. Every scene feels forced, and as a result the treatment of their deaths starts to feel rushed rather than devastating. Durkin assumes the audience knows all the details, which can lead to some confusion about when and how a particular event happened.
Worst of all, “The Iron Claw” makes an appalling, shameless, and cheap grab for our heartstrings by presenting an imagined scene where the brothers reunite in the afterlife, or something to that effect. It might have worked if the film had allowed us to get to know its characters.
Wrestling aficionados and fans of the Von Erichs may find “The Iron Claw” compelling. Anyone looking for a good drama will have their hopes bodyslammed to the canvas and counted out.