It’s always intriguing when Hollywood gets the occasional bug up their butt to make a movie based on something I’ve long been passionate about. I mean, comic books are one thing, and cinema based on graphic novels have dominated for years now. So there’s nothing new there, but I still remember when those outing were more rare and valuable by me. The thrill of seeing something I was so dedicated to getting a big screen treatment was such a blast.

But we definitely get fewer big picture about another big love of mine, pro wrestling. It’s been well over a decade since Darren Aronofsky and Micky Rourke gave us the critically acclaimed The Wrestler and it’s look at the life of a long-in0the-tooth former legend. Ever since then, we’ve had the infrequent something like the much smaller You Can Not Kill David Arquette, but that’s about it.

Until this year, when A24 released The Iron Claw, the “Inspired By A True Story” film telling the heart-wrenching story of the Von Erich family. The focus is on brothers Kevin, David, Kerry, and Mike and their relationship with their cold and singularly focused father, Jack Sr (also known by his ring name, Fritz Von Erich).

The core of the movie is Kevin Von Erich, the sibling who–depending on your viewpoint–either escaped the family curse or was given the biggest brunt of it. His family looked invincible from the outside, but as they grow up in the wrestling business, and under Fritz’s own brand of parental guidance, David, Mike, and Kerry are all cut down at devastatingly young ages. 

As the tragedies mount, Kevin has a harder and harder time keeping his emotions under wraps the way his father demanded of them all. Finally, with Kerry’s death by self-inflicted gunshot wound, it all overflows in a powerful scene that sees Kevin physically confront Jack Sr for the latter’s part in everything that has transpired.

TWO UPS AND TWO DOWNS

+Zac Efron has long since proven to have teen charm quality and high level comedic chops. In The Iron Claw, he gets to display serious dramatic ability, and it’s great–if wildly unfair that Zac Efron both gets to look like ZAC EFRON and also gets to be a multi-faceted and seriously talented actor–to see him pull it off so seemingly effortlessly. 

Efron really carries the movie as the focal point Von Erich brother. He’s the character with the emotional growth, and the one to whom everything seems to happen “to”. His reactions all fit with his character development, and he’s highly sympathetic for a grown adult who looks like He-Man on the screen. The performance makes this man-mountain so much more relatable. 

+The movie works even if you are not a wrestling fan or tied to the Von Erichs. I can attest to this on at least an anecdotal level, as I took my wife to see if (on the promise of “The Guy From The Bear And Shameless is in it”), and she came out of it fully engrossed in the movie and having enjoyed it. She asked a lot of questions and had a few strong opinions on the drive home, mostly that she hoped Fritz Von Erich died alone and after a period of intense suffering. 

The reason the movie works is that it’s not so much about the wrestling, but about the relationship of the brothers and the way they were raised by their parents. Those are aspects that a lot more people can get behind than, say, the pre-determined fighting contest of a few Adonises. It’s a good choice.

-A lot of the in-ring action set pieces–of which there aren’t a ton because they aren’t what the movie is ABOUT, but there are more than enough for such things to matter–are shot with the shakiest of shaky cams, and it gets a bit obnoxious to try to watch. The audience is trying to follow along with some of the actual action the film gives you, but it can be such a pain to watch. 

I’m not sure what the choice was behind this; wrestling matches have been filmed for decades and don’t look like this. Even if you don’t want to do a “classic” camera view, though, you can do better than what The Iron Claw does. I don’t recall have this issue with The Wrestler!

-As much as the movie works hard to gain traction with non-wrestling fans, it’s willingness to toy with real-life timelines and disregard certain aspects of the family’s career might put off more dedicated wrestling fans. Of particular note, the legendary Freebirds/Von Erichs rivalry is boiled down to about five minutes of screen time where the protagonists win some titles that are never mentioned again as the story shifts gears to focus on David’s rise and impending demise.

Similarly, Kerry’s WWF/WWE career is entirely shown as Kevin and Fritz watching one match on television. We get nothing about how Kerry worked his way into WWF, nor anything he did there. It’s mentioned that he won the Intercontinental Title by Fritz at a Christmas get-together, but that’s all. 

OVERALL

The sixth Von Erich sibling, Chris, is not even included in the movie, probably because the studio thought including him would make the film even darker than it already is. Or maybe there were some concerns that audiences would get numb to three different brothers committing suicide. But for whatever reason, he is omitted.

Regardless, the Iron Claw is a powerful movie about one of the most tragic families in American sports history, and it’s extremely accessible to both fans and non-fans of professional wrestling. Zac Efron leads the way with a career-changing performance that will hopefully see him taking more such roles going forward; he’s great here. 

3.5 Out Of 5