The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s.

Coming off seeing ‘The Zone of Interest’, it’s safe to say this hasn’t been a weekend for happy viewing experiences, with wrestling drama ‘The Iron Claw’ the next movie I saw. It tells the story of the Von Erich brothers, who were big names in wrestling particularly through the 1980s, and jeez it is bleak, catching me a little cold despite expecting bleakness going in. I’ll start off by saying if you know as little about the Von Erich family as I did, I would keep it that way as I do think it’ll enhance your experience watching this film. It is directed by Sean Durkin, who has made some interesting movies before (‘Martha Marcy May Marlene’ in particular), and stars Zac Efron in the leading role as Kevin Von Erich.

‘The Iron Claw’ is so named for a wrestling move originally associated with Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany), and later adopted by his sons who would all go on to become professional wrestlers. Their story is told initially through the sleazy, cheesy glamour of early 80s wrestling when the TV channels first started to learn that the sport (is it?) was a marketable concept with a lot of interest, before becoming a much darker tale as the Von Erich brothers suffer problems that they often link to a family ‘curse’. Alongside a very ripped Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson and Stanley Simons play his brothers Kerry, David and Michael respectively, with Holt McCallany and Maura Tierney playing their parents. It has a well selected soft rock soundtrack, the performances are more than good and the underlying story is interesting and well told.

In many respects it’s a rise and fall movie, the rise of the Von Erich brothers as they start to become wrestling household names, to the fall as things go from bad to worse through a series of incredible tragedies and professional disappointments. The narrative focuses a lot on the struggles the brothers have in living up to the masculine ideals set by their domineering father, and to a degree their indifferent mother, and that feeds the darker direction the second half of the movie takes. I really liked ‘The Iron Claw’, and thought Sean Durkin takes an interesting story and turns it into a good movie, but a good balance and transition from the lighter, happier moments of the story, to the grim reality that ultimately unfolds.

Rating: 4/5

Directed By: Sean Durkin

Starring: Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Maura Tierney, Stanley Simons, Holt McCallany, Lily James, Michael J. Harney and Maxwell Jacob Friedman

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt21064584/