Iron Claw (2023)

When you sit down to watch a film like Iron Claw, you must be mentally prepared for this kind of drama. This won’t be as shocking if you have any previous knowledge of the Von Erich story. If you are new to the history of old-school wrestling, then the grim, heartless nature will make you question its validity.

Zac Effron plays Kevin Von Erich. The oldest living brother of the Von Erich boys …

You know what? How do you even review a film like this? It is a story that has been so well-documented over the years. If you know the story, then you know the tragedy, the suffering, and the pain that all these boys went through in their quest to fulfill their dreams and their fathers.  Therein lies the most saddening aspect. We don’t even really know if the brothers wanted any of that. It was thrust upon them out of expectation. But also, it was a different time.

Fritz had a career path, and since his end-game goal was never realized, he forced it upon his sons. But that was pretty commonplace for generations. ” Well, what are you going to do with your life?” You made one decision, and you stuck with that until you died. Fritz made a career out of wrestling. Therefore, his sons must follow the same path even if they weren’t inclined to it. The expectation was simple. Wrestle, fulfill Dad’s dream; if you died, none of the rest would deal with it like adults. Just hold it in forever because that’s what makes a man.

Iron Claw both illustrates and blurs the line between a drama typically geared toward men and those geared toward a woman. Watch Fried Green Tomatoes, Terms of Endearment, or Steel Magnolias. Those are made to wreck you emotionally. In Iron Claw, we are forced to watch Zac endure and hold in all his emotions as his family suffers tragedy after tragedy. He is expected to, and when he tries to address anything, he is met with, “You boys need to work it out amongst yourselves.” Fritz is a hard ass. Cold, callous, and bitter about his own life never reaching its potential. But instead of acceptance, he takes it out on his sons.

Jeremy Allen White plays Kerry. He is arguably the most well-known of all the brothers due to his WWF run in the early 90s. White was great casting, and that kid can act. Kerry was probably the most tortured as he had the best physique and athletic ability, and every time he would get close to that next level, it would all come crashing down. Amazingly, a guy who operated at such a high level kept his amputation hidden for so long. Kerry never achieved the success he longed for either and eventually took his own life on the family farm.

You may ask,  “How is this A24 attached to this?” Well, as the tragedies befall the family, a ghostly quality to the film is introduced. On one side, we watch as Kevin deals with his emotional suffering that he must keep inside himself—or so he thinks. Really, it is causing his wife and children to suffer, but he feels an obligation to his father. Until Kerry dies, that is. Then Kevin starts to really break down and dissect where his life is going. The organization his family has built is no longer viable. He has to sell it. Of course, he is met with resistance.

They only slightly touch on the fact that Fritz took roughly half of what the brothers earned through their careers. Fritz knew if he kept their money the boys would have to rely on him forever. We watch as the brothers put in all the time and effort for success. But they never really leave home. They all try to start families, but they don’t have a lot to show for any minor success they achieve. No one addresses their drug addictions, their alcoholism, their sadness, or their pain. At least not their mother or father anyway.

For me, one glaring aspect of the film was the portrayal of Ric Flair. I grew up watching Ric Flair. I watched a hundred promos of Ric’s. My dad hated Ric. It’s not the physical aspect of the actor or anything but his flamboyance. Ric Flair was among the most intense and bombastic promo guys in the business. Aaron Dean Eisenberg just wasn’t as deranged as I had hoped. Now, I don’t blame him. I feel like the director wanted to cut back on that Over-the-top aspect in that respect, at least on the wrestling side of things.

On the mic, Ric Flair was a maniac. Regarding promo skills, Ric was in league with Macho Man, Ultimate Warrior, and Rowdy Roddy Piper. None of the brothers were ever at that level, except maybe David. This is why he got his big Japanese push; he never made it back alive. David Von Erich was incredibly talented, but the business beat him up and spit him out, and he never got the help he needed. He was beaten up inside, and in his mind, success was the only goal. His father’s goal.

Wrestling is not what the movie is about. It is just simply the catalyst of the curse. Before the mid-1990s, people didn’t think about what wrestlers went through physically or mentally, nor did they care. Now, if guys wrestle a local Indy circuit match for 25 bucks and a slice of pizza, what they are getting into has been pretty well documented. There is a more conscious decision now.  Back then, once guys got to the big show, there was no one to talk to about what they were feeling or their addictions. The only people they had to talk to was each other. This film is about bonds. Bonds with people you trust. Most of them only trusted their peers. Because only they knew what they were going through. Every day of their life was a circus.

It is incredible that Kevin made it out as mentally sound as he did. You can tell there is a deep south, god-fearing, and naivety in the family. Not stupid or ignorant, just simple. God, country, family, and hard work. There was nothing lazy about what these people did. There was nothing wrong with their hard work, either. The problem was the lack of support—the lack of understanding. I hope one day we might get a proper storytelling of the Hart Foundation as well. Stu Hart and Fritz Von Erich trained together for years, making the connection to their stories much more understandable. Anything radicalized is dangerous. That is never more prevalent than in this film about a father who refuses to see things any other way than his own and the brothers who want to make their dad proud—even if it costs them everything.

Iron Claw is in theaters now as of 12/22/23.