By Rosemarie Jacob
“The Iron Claw” was released in December 2023 by A24 and follows the story of the Von Erich family and their rise to fame in the world of wrestling.
Zac Efron stars as Kevin Von Erich, the oldest child among the four Von Erich sons depicted in the film. Patriarch and manager to his sons’ careers, Fritz Von Erich, is played by Holt McCallany, and the remaining three sons David, Mikey, and Kerry are portrayed by Harris Dickinson, Stanley Simons and Jeremy Allen White, respectively.
Despite having to cover the individual stories of so many athletes, including an opening sequence depicting Fritz’s former wrestling career before he retired to become the manager of his sons, the Von Erich men were successfully fleshed out as complex, fully-developed characters. Chief among the performances was Efron’s, as the eldest living boy, expertly acted throughout the film with a quiet vulnerability that shone through his masculine exterior. The muted devastation he had at each of the film’s twists and turns struck the viewer like a whip, and by the end of the movie we are left raw and bleeding from the lashes.
It is incredible to see this kind of skill in acting at a time where many movies coming out are seemingly aimed not at storytelling, but instead being Oscars-bait. Newer films tend to plod along until the one or two scenes where the key actor can scream their head off, break dishes or hysterically sob with snot coming out of their nose to snag them a nomination.
This is not the case with “The Iron Claw,” though one would be tempted to think otherwise due to its subject matter. With the masculine cast and the Von Erichs’ legendary status in the world of wrestling, as well as Holt McCallany’s experience in “Fight Club,” one would go into the theater thinking it would be a movie about the violence and macho bravado of wrestling. Though the sport is indeed the backdrop on which the film unfolds, this is really the story of a family.
The brotherly love between the Von Erich sons was palpable, surrounding everything they did when interacting with each other on screen. The boys were raised in an environment where their father tells them the ranking of his favorite children at breakfast as easily as if it were the morning weather report. Despite that, there is minimal jealousy, with the brothers looking out for each other and taking pride in the other’s victories, even if it comes with their own downfalls.
After Kevin, the Von Erich most focused on is Kerry, a former track athlete whose Olympic dreams are shattered after then-president Jimmy Carter announces a boycott on the Moscow-based 1980 Summer Olympics to protest the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. Worse off is Fritz, who then quickly recovers to tell Kerry he should do wrestling. The earnestness on White’s face when Kerry quickly agrees to switch sports is heartbreaking, showing how desperately he wants to please his father.
The same goes for David and Mikey. Dickinson disappears from the handsome model he successfully played in “Triangle of Sadness” and into the role of the most upbeat Von Erich boy, whose enthusiasm is not yet tainted by his father’s continual pushing. Mikey is announced as Fritz’s least favorite at the first breakfast we see with the family, with promises that the ranking can always change. His blasé attitude towards the announcement marks him as perhaps different from the others, and Simons is able to chameleon the way Mike changes throughout the film. Starting as the physically weaker, musically-inclined Von Erich that seems more interested in playing with his band than pinning his brothers to the ground, Simons quickly devolves into another cog in his father’s wrestling dreams.
The styling and settings of the movie was very well done, and from the beginning you truly feel as though you were dropped into a 1970s suburban neighborhood. The pacing of the film was also excellent, so it is disappointing that they cut an entire Von Erich brother from the plot. The youngest son was actually Chris Von Erich, who loved the sport of wrestling as much as his brothers, but whose short stature and weak build prevented him from getting very far in his training. Chris committed suicide at age 21, a devastating end that would horrifyingly have fit into this tragic movie. Leaving him out seems to be insulting on a certain level, especially when the film focuses so heavily on the deep love between the brothers.
The fact that the Von Erich brothers were played by handsome, athletic actors in their 20s and 30s did not strip away that they came off as vulnerable children. Emotionally stunted and almost trauma-bonded by their experiences, it is not difficult to see how this could be relevant today. Von Fritz was essentially a stage mom, a term often derogatorily used towards women, but so prevalent in today’s world of family channels and sharenting. Only relatively recently have we seen the ramifications of child stars like Macauley Culkin and Britney Spears. We are now entering the era where children who have been on camera from the moment they are out of the womb and plastered onto every YouTube channel with millions of views are starting to come to terms with their upbringing. Though the medium through which parents hope to achieve fame and fortune through their child has changed, the outcome is just as damaging: Young, broken people who are left vulnerable after having more eyeballs on them than cavemen ever thought possible. Many of their private moments were broadcast to millions for the taking, no matter how intimate or personal they may be. The story behind “The Iron Claw” should come as yet another wake-up call to stage parents, though for some like the Von Erichs, it is too late.
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