A Film Directed by Sean Durkin

The intertwining realms of professional wrestling and cinema have walked hand-in-hand since at least the early 1930s. While the success of wrestling-themed films varies (I’m looking at you Hulk Hogan films!), exceptional ones emerge roughly once a decade, serving as poignant reminders of the sport’s profound impact on the American psyche. In recent memory, 2008’s The Wrestler notably captivated audiences and garnered considerable critical acclaim, clinching Academy Awards for the stellar performances of Mickey Rourke and Marissa Tomei. While the subject of this review, Sean Durkin’s 2023 film The Iron Claw, may not match the technical prowess of The Wrestler, and likely had a fraction of its budget, it boasts commendable acting from a majority of its cast, making it a noteworthy addition to the sports film genre. While it may not sweep awards ceremonies, the film stands as a compelling and deserving work.

Bursting onto the scene just before the close of December, The Iron Claw has leaped ahead of numerous films I’ve encountered this year, securing a spot among my top films of 2023. The movie skillfully navigates an emotional rollercoaster as it delves into the heart wrenching story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers. Their journey unfolds against the backdrop of struggles with fame, formidable familial expectations, and the endeavor to sustain the family business despite changing times. Whether you’re a seasoned wrestling fan, a casual viewer, or even a non-fan, The Iron Claw is a must see for anyone looking for a good film to watch this winter.

“The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who make history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports.”

Wrestling is rife with the same sort of tragic stories as any facet of the entertainment business, but I challenge anyone to find a collective tragedy quite as bleak as what happened to the Von Erich Wrestling family over the past fifty years. Once at the absolute peak of Texas sporting royalty, the family slowly withered away until one remaining brother, Kevin Von Erich (played masterfully by Zac Efron in this film), was left holding up his family’s legacy. Perhaps his only saving grace is that he chose a life as a family man and largely moved away from the very business that consumed the rest of his brothers.

The series of tragedies The Iron Claw documents is often referred to as “The Von Erich curse” and is alluded to in the film as a term coined by Fritz Von Erich’s mother. In a forboding revelation from Kevin to his soon-to-be wife Pam, he explains that the ancestral family name always seemed to have a cloud of misfortune following it. It is revealed that Kevin’s oldest brother, Jack Jr., passed away in an accident at the age of seven, setting all future events in motion. This scene is accompanied by the song “Don’t Fear the Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult which is some heavy foreshadowing.

For those “not in the know”, the family patriarch Fritz Von Erich was actually named Jack Barton Adkisson Sr. but chose the old family name because he was assigned the role of a German Nazi character. In a world when you need to have “good guys” fighting “bad guys” a vaguely militaristic German man in a black uniform goosestepping is guaranteed to incite rage in the post-war 1950s, and boy did it. The movie doesn’t actually go into that facet of his career in detail, aside from a clip of him wrestling in the 1950s in the first scene.

“The Von Erich curse” struck throughout the 1980s and 1990s, as the family endured a series of heartbreaking incidents, including the premature deaths of several family members. It became so notorious that it has inspired it’s own mythology, including tall-tales about Fritz being vsiited by the spirit of a Holocaust victim. These losses were often attributed to a combination of personal struggles, such as substance abuse and the pressures of fame. Fritz’s domineering attitude and his almost negligent way of raising his children from a distance, likely did not help the situation, and put even more pressure on the boys.

As I mentioned before, the performances in the film definitely stood out. Holt McCallany both looks and talks almost exactly like Fritz Von Erich, and was a great choice. I know looking like somebody or simply mimicking them isn’t always the best way to cast a film, nor does it always equal a good performance, but he was almost perfect in the role. Zac Efron also stands out as being particularly great in his role as Kevin Von Erich. Efron bulked up like crazy and seemingly worked really hard to learn the ropes, literally, for this role. For an actor that I kind of used to slag off due to his status as a former Disney child actor, Efron has been really impressive to me as of late. Some of the other actors were also pretty good, and while I was somewhat confused by the choice at casting a short actor (Jeremy Allen White) as Kerry Von Erich, he did a good job otherwise.

I think the only casting choice I did not like was Aaron Dean Eisenberg as Ric Flair, and that’s largely because Ric Flair is Ric Flair, and anyone trying to capture the lightning in the bottle that is his charisma has an uphill battle on their hands. This was not a dealbreaker as Eisenberg as Flair is only in the film a handful of times, but he was distracting as a noticeably less enthusiastic, almost mellow version of Flair. Kevin Anton as Harley Race was awesome though, and I’m not just saying that because I live in Missouri! Wrestling fans will also be able to spot a number of currently wrestlers in smaller roles throughout the film such as AEW’s Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) as Lance Von Erich and Ryan Nemeth as Gino Hernandez. Chavo Guererro Jr. also provided a majority of the behind-the-scenes training and choreography for the film, so you can see why it looked so good.

Like most biopics, some of the details portrayed in the film get somewhat iffy at times, and even though the production staff tried their best to get everything in there as true to life as possible, cuts had to be made. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly the director, Sean Durkin, explained why one notable real-life character was entirely absent in the script – the youngest Von Erich, brother Chris:

“The reality is so much worse than what is in the movie,” he said. “You can’t make a movie like that. There’s just not enough time for it — it’s so relentless. […] You could make nine hours of ‘The Godfather’ on this family,” he said. “I didn’t have that opportunity, so I had to make choices of what could fit in a movie.”

Tragically, Chris also took his own life in 1991. It is somewhat sad to me that Chris Von Erich never felt valued in life, so much that he decided to just end it. Even in death, he was not valued enough to be included in this movie, he was once again the expendable brother. This is not a criticism of the film necessarily, but just a depressing thing to think about.

Other things like Kevin’s two older daughters born in the 80s were left out, and the timescales seem somewhat off at times. The movie spans a great period of time – 1978 to around 1992, and the viewer almost loses a sense of that fact watching it. One could have easily assumed this was one really bad year in the early 80s or something. Nobody really changes clothes or hairstyles in any way. That said, nothing is so egregiously wrong that entire books could be written about it. This isn’t like the film Braveheart, which only shares the fact that a man named William Wallace existed with actual history.

Overall, The Iron Claw is far from a perfect film. It often plays with history, and some casting choices felt off. Despite this, the film delivers one of the best depictions of professional wrestling in film to date. It masterfully tells the story of one man’s survival against adversity and has a great cast with some solid performances. Even with its small budget, the production staff did a great job capturing the past. If you have any passing knowledge about The Von Erich family, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how well everything goes together, getting many parts right over my small complaints. In a nutshell, every wrestling fan should check out The Iron Claw and spread the word; films like this don’t come around often.