*Trigger Warning*
*Warning spoilers ahead*
The Iron Claw was a movie released by A24 recently on December 22, 2023. It follows the tragic story of the Von Erich brothers, a famous wrestling family in the 1980s. Starring Zac Efron as Kevin, Harrison Dickinson as David, Jeremy Allen White as Kerry, and Stanley Simons as Mike. These four together play the Von Erich brothers alongside Holt Mcallany as their Father and Maura Tierney as their mother. Although technically there were six brothers, the firstborn was mentioned throughout and shown in the last scene. Sadly, the film did not note another brother named Chris Von Erich. The filmmaker Sean Durkin explained that he didn’t add Chris because he felt that “There was repetition to it, and it was one more tragedy the film couldn’t withstand.” Although I was saddened he wasn’t mentioned and wished he was, I can understand where the filmmaker is coming from.
I had wanted to see the film for a while, especially for the fantastic cast and overall story; although I knew it was a wrestling movie, I had no prior knowledge of what the film was about. I could go with a friend and my parents; as the movie began, I loved the feel of southernness demonstrated; as a fellow Texan, I already felt very connected to the film. In the first 30 minutes of the movie, the entire theater, including me, cracked up at some of the funny moments and was intrigued by the romance between Kevin and Pam, who Lily James plays. During this time, I felt that the film was predictable and silly. I figured it would just be the battle of the brothers who would get to be the best wrestler in the family, and in the end, they would work together, though as the movie went on, I realized I was very mistaken. After a few scenes, we see Kevin and Pam getting married, which is fun until we see David, the lead wrestler in their family, throwing up what seems to look like blood in the bathroom toilet. Kevin finds him and panics until David reassures him that he is fine and must be because of food or stress. When I saw this scene, I knew that the film was turning in a tragic direction, and I was sadly correct. The next scene we see is the Von Erich family getting ready for David’s funeral after having died in a hotel in Japan at a wrestling event due to a ruptured intestine. This scene, though expected, broke my heart; knowing that the brothers were so close and had nothing but love for each other, seeing one being gone was gut-wrenching.
As the movie went on, the Father of the brothers told them it was time for one of the brothers to step up and become the prominent wrestler of the family. Kevin, the eldest of the brothers, was prepared to step up until Kerry, the now second-oldest, had returned from Olympic training and wanted to step up. They flipped a coin to decide who would get to step in David’s spot; we then see Kerry as the prominent wrestler. I was not surprised to see this, as the Father favored Kerry. We can see Kerry on TV achieving much success as a wrestler, including winning the NWA championship; this fulfilled the father’s dream of having the family name in history. Everything seemed to be returning to normal and lighthearted until Kerry decided to ride his motorcycle late at night and crashed. Although relieved to see him back on the screen, knowing he is alive and healthy, we then see his left foot gone due to the crash. The entire theater went silent in shock, including my friend and parents, knowing that although he was alive, it seemed he could no longer wrestle.
Mike, the youngest of the brothers and aspiring cameraman, is seen practicing wrestling with his Father and Kevin. You could see he was unhappy wrestling, but he did it to make his family happy. Shortly after, while he is in the ring, he lands the wrong way where he injures his shoulder. Another tragedy, I felt like my stomach was being hit over and over, and I couldn’t take any more tragedy. We then see the nurses explain to the family how, during surgery, he went through Toxic Shock syndrome; we see him talking to the press about going back to wrestling, although you could quickly tell something was wrong. As the film goes on, we see Mike struggle to go back to his everyday life; when he can no longer play the guitar as he used to, he then grabs a bottle of pills and alcohol and takes as many as he can to commit suicide. He then walks alone with a flashlight and blankets to die outside. This scene broke me; throughout the whole movie, it was heartbreaking to see Mike in a state of depression, and I couldn’t help but tear up. Seeing the family getting smaller and smaller was highly unexpected. As the family finds Mike on the ranch, they genuinely break and try to survive.
As Kevin is with Pam in their own house, he gets a call from Kerry, worried he listens to Kerry’s suicidal thoughts and the pain he is in. Kevin tells him to go home and that he will meet him there. Kevin then calls their Father and tells him to keep an eye on Kerry. Although predicting what would happen next, I truly hoped that I would be wrong and they would be able to help Kerry, but unfortunately, it was too late. As Kevin ran to find Kerry, we heard a loud bang, which made the whole theatre and me jump in anticipation. We then see Kerry on the ground with a gun, indicating his unfortunate suicide. I was blown away by Zac Efron’s impeccable performance in this scene. It honestly took the show away; seeing his grief towards his brothers and his anger towards his Father had me in tears till the end. Seeing the final scene where the deceased brothers reunite and Kevin getting to see his sons playing together as he used to with his brothers gave the movie fantastic closure. I wanted to sob when the movie ended because I couldn’t believe what I had just watched; it seemed like a masterpiece. Almost the entire theater sat for a minute and processed the film with tears, including my friends and family. What I have to say about this movie is it truly felt like something I have never watched before, and I believe it should win many awards, especially the cast. The actors who stole the show were every single brother, especially Zac Efron. I have never seen him in a role like this, and his acting was breathtaking. If you want to watch a movie soon in theaters, I strongly suggest you watch Iron Claw and bring a box of tissues.
