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The Iron Claw
Despite a screenplay that could have used a little tightening, 2023's The Iron Claw is an emotionally manipulative look at a sports dynasty that, at times, made my blood boil, thanks to a tragic story and some terrific performances.
This movie is an up close and personal look at the legendary Von Erich family who were the cornerstone of the original professional wrestling company called World Class Wrestling where after his own retirement, Fritz Von Erich pretty much bullied his four sons into professional wrestling, including one who was really an Olympic athlete, grounded because of the Moscow boycott and the other, who really wanted to be a musician. Kevin Von Erich reveals that his family was believed to be cursed, but what Kevin believed to be a curse, might have just been the machinations of his father.
Director and screenwriter Sean Durkin (Martha Macy May Marlen) has put a great deal of care in bringing the story of the Von Erich family to the screen without too much melodramatics for us to wade through. The establishment of the family dynamic is carefully crafted to set up the villain of the piece during a scene where the family is sharing a meal and Fritz emphatically lists for his boys who his favorites are, from most favorite to least favorite, without batting an eye. I've never seen a movie dad do that before. This scene made me hate the guy for pretty much the remainder of the movie. No matter what tragedy or negativity overcame this family. Fritz refuses to be accountable for any of it. We see Kevin choke his father near the end of the movie and I cheered the same way I did when Jack Nicholson choked Louise Fletcher at the climax of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
I also found myself disliking two major characters in the story that I don't think I was supposed to dislike. One was Pam, the love interest for Kevin who pretty much bullied the man into a relationship with her. She didn't try to come between Kevin and his brothers, but as bad things start happening to the family, she just didn't seem to care outside of how it affected her. The other was the matriarch of the family, who it was hard to watch just stand silently in the background and watch her husband emotionally abuse these boys. There are multiple scenes in this movie that aroused such anger in me.
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Durkin assembles a top-notch cast to pull this often squirm-worthy story off. Even though he looks like he's on steroids, Zac Efron still manages to provide a solid performance as Kevin Von Erich and Emmy winner Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) is equally intense as Kerry. Stanley Simons made his Michael Von Erich worth watching, but it's Holt McCallany's richly internalized performance as the demanding Fritz Von Erich that really keeps this movie on boil. It's a little longer than it needed to be, but the cast still makes it worth watching.
Despite a screenplay that could have used a little tightening, 2023's The Iron Claw is an emotionally manipulative look at a sports dynasty that, at times, made my blood boil, thanks to a tragic story and some terrific performances.
This movie is an up close and personal look at the legendary Von Erich family who were the cornerstone of the original professional wrestling company called World Class Wrestling where after his own retirement, Fritz Von Erich pretty much bullied his four sons into professional wrestling, including one who was really an Olympic athlete, grounded because of the Moscow boycott and the other, who really wanted to be a musician. Kevin Von Erich reveals that his family was believed to be cursed, but what Kevin believed to be a curse, might have just been the machinations of his father.
Director and screenwriter Sean Durkin (Martha Macy May Marlen) has put a great deal of care in bringing the story of the Von Erich family to the screen without too much melodramatics for us to wade through. The establishment of the family dynamic is carefully crafted to set up the villain of the piece during a scene where the family is sharing a meal and Fritz emphatically lists for his boys who his favorites are, from most favorite to least favorite, without batting an eye. I've never seen a movie dad do that before. This scene made me hate the guy for pretty much the remainder of the movie. No matter what tragedy or negativity overcame this family. Fritz refuses to be accountable for any of it. We see Kevin choke his father near the end of the movie and I cheered the same way I did when Jack Nicholson choked Louise Fletcher at the climax of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
I also found myself disliking two major characters in the story that I don't think I was supposed to dislike. One was Pam, the love interest for Kevin who pretty much bullied the man into a relationship with her. She didn't try to come between Kevin and his brothers, but as bad things start happening to the family, she just didn't seem to care outside of how it affected her. The other was the matriarch of the family, who it was hard to watch just stand silently in the background and watch her husband emotionally abuse these boys. There are multiple scenes in this movie that aroused such anger in me.
Durkin assembles a top-notch cast to pull this often squirm-worthy story off. Even though he looks like he's on steroids, Zac Efron still manages to provide a solid performance as Kevin Von Erich and Emmy winner Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) is equally intense as Kerry. Stanley Simons made his Michael Von Erich worth watching, but it's Holt McCallany's richly internalized performance as the demanding Fritz Von Erich that really keeps this movie on boil. It's a little longer than it needed to be, but the cast still makes it worth watching.