The Iron Claw is the story of the Von Erich family, a star-studded wrestling dynasty marked by a series of tragedies bordering on the absurd.
Six children were born from the love of Jack Adkisson and his wife, Dora. Jack made his fortune in the ring and raised his boys (except the first, Jack Jr., who died early) to compete and excel in one of the American public’s most beloved shows. Little did he imagine that he would destroy his family, so much so that many believed there was a curse on the Von Erichs, the stage name Jack chose for his lineage.
It is easy to get news about what happened.
What Sean Durkin recounts in The Iron Claw is a chronicle that combines real-life elements and dramaturgical reconstruction in a complex script built on several layers. Durkin sets the chronology differently and eliminates from the narrative the sixth brother, who also committed suicide after an ill-fated sports career.
Sean Durkin is an exciting director.
He debuted with a film of depth and substance as Marcia Marcy May Marlene, highlighting some of the themes dear to the filmmaker. Overall, the family, in all its different declinations. Then, the U.S. cultural fabric and the American Dream turned into a nightmare. These ideas were further developed in his second feature, The Nest, but also in the works he produced, such as the horror The Eyes of My Mother and the excellent drama directed by Antonio Campos Christine, based on the tragic true story of journalist Christine Chubbuck. And not forgetting the Dead Ringers series, a reinterpretation of David Cronenberg’s feature.
He condenses all of these suggestions into The Iron Claw.
Von Erich’s epic, on paper triumphant, is instead described as a perpetual descent into hell. Charon is the father-master Fritz-Jack, convinced that the American dream is replicable through establishing a totalitarian regime in which the parent decides merit in an entirely arbitrary manner. With all the attendant consequences. A sports drama only on the surface, actually a family tragedy, classic in its setting and fascinating in its staging.
Durkin works on spaces, on emptiness, on the depth of field, and simultaneously on bodies, perfect and phoney, like the pantomime they sustain on stage and the dream they are chasing. The camera often lingers in slow, reflective movements, delicate zooms and dollies, bringing peace to these troubled souls.
A magnificent cast
The Iron Claw is enhanced by a cast that gives all of themselves. The definition is as fitting as ever. Holt McCallany confirms himself to be a magnificent actor who deserves more opportunities because of his face and talent. Maura Tierney and Lily James, the two strong women who pick up the pieces of this disaster, are both terrific. Jeremy Allen White is the man of the hour and does not disappoint, but his three brothers steal the show. Stanley Simmons, as the fragile one, is a pleasant discovery.
Zac Efron would have deserved much more consideration in Award Season. Stepping into Kevin Von Erich, he gives one of those career-defining performances, contrasting a heartbreaking sensitivity and intensity with a body perpetually hovering between the divine and the monstrous.
Harris Dickinson is a talent for today and tomorrow.
It was clear after Triangle of Sadness that the young British actor was not just a pretty boy functional to the satire staged by Ruben Östlund. Along with Austin Butler, he is among the few today capable of filling the screen like the stars of the golden age did. This year, he starred in one of the most celebrated British debuts, Scrapper. He is the only thing to remember in a forgettable series like A Murder at the End of the World. We will hear a lot about him in the future.