MIDNIGHT REVIEWS The Iron Claw
Midnight Reviews features reviews and thought pieces written and edited by a parent, at night, after bedtime.
This evening’s review…
The Iron Claw (2hr 12mins)
Directed by: Sean Dirkin
Featuring: Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson
Synopsis: The Von Erich family, led by patriarch Fritz, try to show the world they are the ones to watch when it comes to wrestling. Unfortunately, Fritz’s methods leave a lot to be desired and all four sons feel their own brand of pressure that threatens to tear either them or the entire family apart.
Review: The Iron Claw isn’t really a movie about wrestling. This is a story that could be about anything physical, with talk of injuries, pushing oneself and winning competitions. The title is a metaphor for the grip Fritz Von Erich (a terrific Holt McCallany) has on the whole family, pushing his four sons to not just take part, but succeed.
Zac Efron is the first to wrestle and is being set up as champion of the world. Kevin Von Erich seems to model himself on a picture of a Greek God he saw in a book once, and is beloved by everyone as he shakes hands and signs autographs after wrestling shows. His brothers are pushed into the same scene and it’s his self-imposed job to look after everyone when his father won’t.
All performances are flawless.
It’s an early scene that reveals Fritz’s hideousness as a father. In so casually reminding his sons of the ranking system that each of them is a part of, whether they like it or not, it’s no wonder events wind up going the way they go. And each brother has his own distinct flavour when it comes to the parenting Fritz exerts on them, for example whether it’s being the only son who doesn’t really want to wrestle (Stanley Simons, playing Mike as a mixture of charismatic but skittish youngster) or the older brother who takes care of everyone before being overtaken (Efron, magnificent). This variation and individuality for each character helps The Iron Claw avoid monotony.
Fritz’s toxicity extends to everything and everyone around him. Maura Tierney is fantastic as Doris, creating so much with only a small amount of material as the mother who is at turns unfeeling, unapproachable, utterly deplorable. But then her vulnerability gets put on display in the most horrible way and she shows the reason why she’s like this. She is as much a victim of Fritz as her sons.
Its power is in the close-up.
All performances are flawless, making the supposed Barbie awards snub seem small in comparison. Despite this being sold as a family drama, there aren’t any over-the-top emotions on display as each brother attempts to hide what he’s truly feeling. From tiny moments with Mike trying to persuade his parents music is the way forward; Dickinson as David trying to hide his guilt at surpassing someone he saw as his mentor; White giving glimpses of the reasons why Kerry is so self-destructive before the most shocking sequence of the movie, all the way to Efron as the de facto main character, Kevin.
The film does well to balance itself. It enables itself to explore each brother whilst being able to use Efron’s performance as an anchor. Whilst The Iron Claw could’ve spent more time taking a look at the underside of wrestling as an entertainment package and the pressures of celebrity, it instead would rather take a look at these family dynamics and what could truly destroy a person who just wants to please. The film is undeniably careful with what it shows Efron’s character doing (David and Kerry are shown taking steroids and cocaine respectively, whilst Kevin goes for a morning jog), but the exploration makes it clear that everyone involved suffers.
At first the film threatens to mire itself, almost failing to find a way into these characters because of their lack of truthful communication, but its power is in the close-up, something cinema does better than any other art form. As each scene follows the previous, The Iron Grip gets tighter. The hits keep coming for the family until Kevin reaches breaking point and it’s here that the film’s style starts to really pay off as the tightness and unflinching nature of some of the camerawork lets us in on what each character is feeling, helping these amazing performances find a home.
The Iron Claw ends in an unexpected way. It uses hopeless nostalgia to communicate what all of the family, Fritz excluded, try to do in order to cling on to a hope that things might just get better. Even its credits show its characters smiling, attempting to forget the tragedy that came for each of them. It’s backwards and doesn’t work under any scrutiny in regards to logic, but this is the world of The Iron Claw. It’s an incredibly sad film that displays what tiny moments that could be filled with love, but are otherwise engaged in uncaring pushing, can do to a person.
The Iron Claw is currently out in cinemas. Watch it on the big screen to really feel its raw power.
