Like Martin Scorsese’s masterful “Raging Bull” (1980) and David O. Russell’s gritty and searing “The Fighter” (2010) and Bennett Miller’s hauntingly effective “Foxcatcher” (2014), writer-director Sean Durkin’s bruising and mournful “The Iron Claw” is a psychological sports film based on the true story of brothers in the fight game (whether it’s boxing or wrestling) — but whereas the aforementioned films were about pairs of siblings, this story is about four brothers as well as the relentlessly demanding father who believed he was building a dynasty even as he was breaking the entire family.
Actually, there were six Von Erich brothers, five of whom died in heartbreaking fashion. Firstborn son Jack Jr. accidentally drowned at the age of 6. One brother died from enteritis and three others died by suicide. The film references young Jack Jr.’s death, but writer-director Durkin chose to concentrate on four of the surviving five brothers and actually pull back from depicting every single tragedy that plagued the Von Erich clan — and yet we’re still stunned by the seemingly endless barrage of devastating and fatal emotional punches rained down on this family. It’s almost unbelievable, except it all really happened, and “The Iron Claw” depicts these events as a Shakespearean tale by way of 1980s Texas.
In an expertly rendered black-and-white prologue set in the early 1960s, Holt McCallany instantly establishes an indelible presence as the burly and intimidating Fritz Von Erich, a second-tier but formidable and ambitious pro wrestler known for his “Iron Claw” wrestling grip, in which he’d spread his mighty hand over his opponent’s face and squeeze him into submission. In the parking lot after a match, Fritz proudly shows his wife Doris (Maura Tierney) and their two young sons the new Cadillac he’s just leased even though they can’t afford it, because he believes you have to act like a star to become a star. With chilling determination, Fritz proclaims: I will be the world champion, and nothing will ever hurt us again.
This turns out to be one of the least prescient statements in recent film history.
Flash forward to 1979, with Fritz and Doris and their sons living on a sprawling ranch in Denton, Texas. When we see the shirtless Zac Efron as oldest brother Kevin, he’s so pumped he looks like a non-green version of the Incredible Hulk. In fact, the Van Erich brothers look like live-action versions of Saturday morning cartoon superheroes, with haircuts that look like they were modeled on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
In addition to Kevin, there’s David (Harris Dickinson), who isn’t as impressive physically as his older brother but is much better at grabbing the microphone and engaging in self-promotion; Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), an aspiring Olympic discus thrower who joins the family wrestling team after Jimmy Carter’s boycott of the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow, and Mike (Stanley Simons), who is sensitive and artistic and wants to be a musician but also gets into the ring because that’s what Dad wants.
These boys will do anything to win the love of their father, who is characteristically blunt about his feelings for them, at one point saying, “Now we all know Kerry’s my favorite, then Kev, then David, then Mike. But the rankings can always change.”
With Fritz consumed with running the syndicated “World Class Championship Wrestling” show and positioning various sons for a title shot, Doris remains a passive, churchgoing, rather distant figure. (When Kevin comes to her hoping to talk, she says, “Oh baby, that’s what your brothers are for.”)
The film does an amazing job of re-creating the atmosphere in and around the old Dallas Sportatorium, where thousands of fans gave the Von Erich brothers the rock-star treatment as they’d rise through the ranks. Other than a few fleeting glimpses of combatants discussing moves and choreography pre-match, “The Iron Claw” adheres to the policy of “kayfabe,” i.e., the tacit agreement between wrestlers and fans that staged and scripted events should be taken as real — and there’s no denying the very real physical pain and suffering endured by the brothers.
Even more devastating is the emotional toll exacted by a father who was more of a villain at the breakfast table than he ever was in the ring. Here was a man whose parenting was forged by his bitterness over the disappointments of his own life, a man who told his surviving sons not to cry at funeral after funeral. After funeral. Not once, not for a moment, does Fritz display any sense of remorse or take the least bit of responsibility for the “curse” of the Von Erich family. It’s always somebody else’s fault, someone else’s responsibility.
Lily James delivers empathetic work as Kevin’s wife Pam, who is devoted to her husband but also strong enough to tell him to stop with this curse nonsense and take care of his family. Holt McCallany is an absolute force as one of the worst fathers in recent movie history. All four of the actors playing the brothers are standouts, with Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White leading the way with some of the finest work of their respective careers. “The Iron Claw” isn’t an easy watch, but it’s one of the best films of the year.
