The Iron Claw Review: Zac Efron, Holt McCallany shine in gripping family drama with wrestling as the backdrop

Sean Durkin‘s take on wrestling’s most tragic family, the Von Erichs, turns into one of 2023’s best films in The Iron Claw.

Durnkin’s film is a gripping drama that turns the pursuit of the American dream into something quite dark. As Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany, fantastic), states repeatedly if you work harder than everyone else you can accomplish greatness. Unfortunately, it only takes a power-hungry father, hell-bent on using his sons to reach a stature he could never reach to derail a family.

The casting across the board is terrific. Zach Efron is incredible as the 2nd oldest son, Kevin. The oldest Von Erich boy died when Kevin was young. Kevin loves wrestling and his brothers. Efron shines at showing the soft-spoken Kevin’s vulnerability as he tries to maintain his family’s legacy. Both McCallany and Efron should receive Oscar nominations for their performances.

Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson round out the trio of wrestling brothers as Kerry and David Von Erich with compelling performances. Stanley Simons as Mike gives a different kind of performance as the more musically inclined brother. There’s a supposed Von Erich curse that hangs over the name. However, Durkin shines at showing how all of the tragic events that occur in the film were avoidable.

The problems all stem from a domineering father figure in Fritz and an inattentive mother in Doris Von Erich (Maura Tierney) who leaves the parenting to Fritz and Kevin.

Rounding out the cast is Lily James as Pam. She opens up Kevin’s eyes beyond just his brothers.

The Iron Claw works best as a family drama with wrestling as a backdrop. Where The Iron Claw falls a bit short is in depicting the state of pre-WWE wrestling. While the wrestling sequences are fine, The Iron Claw doesn’t match The Wrestler or Fighting with my Family when it comes to depicting the wrestling industry.

Like Hulk Hogan in the 80s, you don’t need to be the best in the ring, if you can connect with the audience. In this case, The Iron Claw‘s grip on a story about a family that suffers wave after wave of tragedy never breaks.

With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into this gripping family drama.

The Inventor of The Iron Claw

The Iron Claw begins with Fritz wrestling and using his signature move to defeat an opponent. After the match, Fritz vows to win the world title. He finds his wife and a young Kevin outside and promises a better future for the family. He never realizes that dream.

Fast forward a few years and Fritz is booking wrestling shows at the Dallas Sportatorium. Kevin is a rising star in the ring with David set to debut as a mystery partner in support of his brother. When David does inadvertently steal Kevin’s thunder by delivering a great promo on Kevin’s behalf, it doesn’t take long for Fritz to get behind David. A disappointed Kevin takes most of these slights by his father in stride.

Everything about how Fritz is as a despicable father is summed up during an early dinner scene. Fritz flat-out names his favorite children in order, but relays to Mike the rankings can always change.

When it comes to wrestling Fritz is all over his children, but outside the ring, he and Doris offer little support to Kevin and the other boys. When Kevin asks his mom to talk to Fritz about how hard he is on David, she says the issue doesn’t concern her. The only thing she cares about is the boys showing up to church.

Fritz’s only goal is to bring a world title into the house. He will squeeze every ounce of his boys that he can.

Band of brothers

The support the brothers show for one another is The Iron Claw‘s beating heart. They may disagree on occasion, but they don’t hesitate to support each other. This is in and outside of the ring.

In the ring, Kerry and David join Kevin to form one of the most popular three-man teams in wrestling. David and Kerry have more potential for stardom. When David is chosen to head to Japan to face Ric Flair, Kevin supports his brother. Kerry was heading to the Olympics as a discus thrower. However, when the United States refused to participate in the 1980s, Kerry returned home and joined his brothers in the ring.

Kevin’s support for his brothers extends outside of the ring. The youngest brother is Mike. He’s more interested in pursuing music as a career over wrestling. When Mike lands a gig at a college house party, his mother forbids him from performing and his father supports her decision. Even though it’s a paid gig, Fritz doesn’t consider Mike’s gig a real job.

Kevin, David, Kerry and Pam have Mike’s back. They take him to the gig and cheer their brother on.

The connection and warmth between the brothers make the tragic events that occur throughout the film all the more painful.

Wrestling with the Von Erich curse

After Kevin marries and starts a family with Pam, he begins to diverge from his father’s way of thinking. He’s still wrestling at the Sportatorium, but the passion is fading without his brothers around.

After the tragedies, Kevin begins to drift away from his wife and children. He refuses to come home because he’s terrified over how his name could harm his family. Kevin doesn’t sleep with other women or go on benders. He sleeps at the arena under a desk.

Eventually, Kevin returns to the house. His parenting style couldn’t be more different from his father’s. He cooks dinner for his wife and children. More importantly, he shows affection towards his children and his wife in a way Fritz doesn’t. He’s also capable of changing his priorities.

Fritz eventually gives Kevin control of the regional wrestling promotion. Kevin needs a bigger home to sustain his family and the financial situation isn’t good. When Kevin receives an offer to buy the promotion, Fritz essentially tells Kevin he will be disowned if he does so. Kevin chooses his family’s well-being over his father’s demands.

The best scene of the film and one of the best of the year happens near the end of the film. Kevin is watching his children play outside. He’s reminiscing over how he played with his brothers. The tears start flowing, which his children notice. They ask why he’s crying and he apologizes for showing emotion. They tell their dad it’s ok and they cry all of the time. It’s a powerful moment that demonstrates the positive impact a good father can have on his children.

Efron’s subtle acting moments as Kevin are incredible. Kevin is soft-spoken by nature, but Efron lets us see the emotions on his face.

The Iron Claw final thoughts

The Iron Claw continues 2023’s strong streak of biopic films alongside Oppenheimer and Gran Turismo. Efron and McCallany deliver memorable performances that deserve recognition. Durkin brilliantly uses the wrestling sequences to dig deeper into the relationship between brothers.

The one performance that doesn’t work is the actor who plays Ric Flair doesn’t come close to matching The Nature Boy. Also, the wrestling scenes themselves are accurate to this era of wrestling but aren’t exciting.

While the wrestling scenes may not be ready for the main event, everything else about The Iron Claw is sensational.

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