A Review

"The Iron Claw" is my favorite kind of sports movie. One that doesn't focus on the sport specifically (which in this case is wrestling), but rather makes itself about the conditions and virtues of those who compete in it. Example, "Rocky" is not about boxing, but about a boxer.

Zac Efron portrays Kevin Von Erich, the oldest (living) brother of the Von Erich family, famous in the pro-wrestling world for their talents in the ring but also their history of unthinkable tragedy. Kevin believes his family carries a curse, but in truth, the only thing they are cursed with is the family's domineering patriarch Fritz (Holt McCallany) who Kevin and his three brothers are fatally determined to never let down.

It’s an examination of the emotional and psychological limits of the human being, as well as the consequences that come with the near impossible choice of what to do when choosing not to disappoint one person you love endangers another. They all four do their best to make their father proud, but these ambitions come with a price, and it’s because of Kevin’s “oldest brother syndrome” which designates him as his brothers’ protector why he feels the greatest grief when the family is struck by disaster.

“The Iron Claw” pummels you with everything it’s got and you feel every bit of the moral and existential crisis this family is going through. Efron is an absolute tour de force here, effectively bringing out the tender vulnerability that exists beneath Kevin’s hulking exterior. After roughly 15 years of mostly pre-teen fluff and raunchy for the sake of raunch comedies, it really is amazing to at last see him in a role of such emotional heft. There’s bits of dialogue that I felt were completely unnecessary and a few scenes go on longer than needed, but these flaws are slight bruises on this heart-breaking then heart-rebuilding human condition drama.