The Iron Claw

THE IRON CLAW (15)

D: Sean Durkin

A24 / Lionsgate / Access / BBC / House (Tessa Ross, Julie Howell, Sean Durkin, Angus Lamont & Derrin Schlesinger)

US/UK 🇺🇸🇬🇧 2023

132 mins

Sports/Drama

W: Sean Durkin

DP: Matyas Erdely

Ed: Matthew Hannam

Mus: Richard Reed Parry

Zac Efron (Kevin Von Erich), Jeremy Allen White (Kerry Von Erich), Harris Dickinson (David Von Erich), Maura Tierney (Doris Von Erich), Holt McCallany (Jack ‘Fritz’ Von Erich), Lily James (Pam Adkisson)

The Iron Claw is a sports drama inspired by the true story of the Von Erich brothers, who competed in a Texas promotion of American wrestling throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, and their legendary ‘curse’, which led to the premature death of four of the five brothers. 

The film identifies wrestling as a kayfabe sport (i.e. staged, but portrayed as true), but also acknowledges the athletic prowess required to participate in it and the injuries that can transpire.

Kevin Von Erich Is the big draw within the Texas promotion, but keeps getting sidelined by his overbearing father who runs the business in favour of his other brothers, who each go on to have some success before their untimely deaths.

Zac Efron is fine in the lead as Kevin, but the finest performances certainly come from Jeremy Alien White as his brother, Kerry, and Holt McCanally as the father of the family, Jack ‘Fritz’ Von Erich, a former professional wrestler himself before turning promoter and manipulating his sons to continue his legacy.

I, myself, was a fan of WWE (then WWF) wrestling around the time period exhibited here, and was familiar with Kerry Von Erich under his ring name “Texas Tornado” and his subsequent suicide, so this was a story that interested me, but I’d still recommend this to those who aren’t a fan of the sport, or even sport in general, as it isn’t a film about wrestling, it’s a drama about the relationship between brothers despite the toxic influence of their patriarch, which will certainly grip your attention throughout.

7/10