Emerging Heroes
Film
The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports.
If for some reason you didn't already know, professional wrestling is in fact... well, it's not real. It's actually scripted and choreographed for entertainment purposes. Turns out the best way to engage an audience and create dramatic tension is by preparing a storyline and predetermining the outcome of said match! I hope no one reading this just realized that professional wrestling is pre-arranged and in some sense isn't representative authentic fighting... The emphasis isn't really about legitimate athletic competition and is more about performance and character development in the ring and creating a theatrical environment for people to cheer on their heroes. While in wrestling the storylines and outcomes may be predetermined, everything that goes into being a great wrestler is very real and very human. The sport demands that one maintains an impressive and larger-than-life physicality and is reliant upon acrobatic movement and displays of strength and agility. It requires an individual has instinctual stage presence, transformative showmanship, and magnetic charisma. Most importantly, a great wrestler can connect with others and cast a long, memorable shadow, one that will cement their iconography as immortal. As the saying goes, heroes get remembered, but legends never die.
The foremost reason for why The Iron Claw works as well as it does is because writer-director Sean Durkin has presented the most honest and lived-in world of wrestling ever put on screen. The new biographical sports drama film from the once little studio that could, A24, is something in between a standard by-the-books biopic and a typical sports movie, though it is really no more a typical sports movie than it is an emotionally resonant family drama about real people facing real true-to-life adversity. The Iron Claw somehow manages to be none of those things and takes and applies the best parts of all of those things simultaneously, making it something altogether original. It's based on the life of professional wrester Kevin Von Erich (played brilliantly Zac Efron) and the rise and fall of the Von Erich family. Including Efron's excellence in the leading role (absolutely career best work from him), the film is a great ensemble piece, a perfectly balanced blend of performance and on-screen persona that is essential to both the experience of the movie and the simulation of this wrestling dynasty. The Iron Claw is tragic but affecting, a paradoxical American story of success and tragedy told gently and sincerely.
(SPOILERS APLENTY)
Kevin (Efron) is the eldest living Von Erich brother and the reigning Texas National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Heavyweight Champion. His father, Jack "Fritz" Von Erich (Holt McCallany), once a prominent wrestler himself, is the owner of World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), a professional wrestling promotion in Texas. David (Harris Dickinson), the third son, is training to make his wrestling debut alongside Kevin, while Mike (Stanley Simons), the fourth son, has musical ambitions that buck against his father's wrestling expectations for him. The third son, Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), is training to compete in the 1980 Summer Olympics and is away from home, but when that dream fizzles out due to President's Carter boycott, he too trains to fight alongside Kevin and David. The matriarch, Doris (Maura Tierney), is fully supportive of her husband's strict and demanding approach to parenting and wrestling, of which the latter always superseded the former. The screenplay does an efficient job of introducing the audience to the family and unpacking the layers of dysfunctional family dynamics and priorities without overselling or overdramatizing things needlessly.
In the early ought of his relationship with the woman who will one day be his wife, Pam (Lily James), Kevin tells her about the the "Von Erich curse." Ever since his father changed his last name from Adkisson to his mother's name Von Erich as part of his wrestling persona, the family has suffered constant strategy, including the death of Jack Jr., the eldest Von Erich brother who died at the age of six. But heading into the 1980s, this idea of a Von Erich curse seems to fade away. While Kevin's opportunities at becoming the world champion might've fizzled, both David and Kerry show as much promise and begin to surpass Kevin in their father's pecking order. Together, the trio of Kevin, David, and Kerry takes off, culminating with their defeating the Fabulous Freebirds for the six man tag team championship title. But the glory days are short-lived. The Von Erich family will go on to experience a series of heartbreaking tragedies with the untimely deaths of several members, contributing to a somber legacy in the world of professional wrestling. The film navigates the landmines of these emotional bombs with tempo and grace, while also managing to characterize the lasting impact the Von Erich family left on the wrestling industry.
It is often the case that a story like this is harder to pull of as a traditional biopic feature rather than just a documentary film full of stock footage. I think in this case it was the better choice to tell the story this way and lean on a superbly cast group of performers to embody these characters. I already mentioned Efron, but it is worth saying again how great he is in this movie. He's never been better than this (sorry to the Ted Bundy crowd), and I'm so glad he finally found the perfect part to match his effortless charisma, his overwhelming physique, and legitimately earned ethos in what is serious and studied character work. Bravo to him.
What I admire most about The Iron Claw is the fearlessness in its storytelling. The film stares down the trickle-down effect of toxic masculinity right in the face and seeks to challenge its cancerous destruction all while still humanizing the subjects involved. The sins of the father are as severe as they are aplenty, but Durkin makes a point to get his point across without preaching or making some kind of oversimplified resolution about thwarted parental guidance and corrupted manhood. There's nothing particular flashy about what Durkin and his team of filmmakers are trying to accomplish here. And perhaps there isn't really a deeper level of probing or psychological analysis going on. But The Iron Claw will deliver a soul-crushing suplex to your heart before it helps you up, gives you a hug, and reveals its gentle heart.
Froth
What kind of beer do fans of wrestling like? I couldn't begin to guess. I mean, if I'm just working off ill-conceived stereotypes and making assumptions, I would guess many of them would be partial to a certain blue-canned, easy-drinking rice beer that hails from the great state of Missouri. Maybe? Or something worse, like Ice House or Red Dog. Some bottom shelf domestic lager that goes down easy and doesn't hurt your wallet. Really, there's no judgement here. I spent the better part of a decade drinks Hamm's by choice, okay? But in anticipating my screening of The Iron Claw, I bought a 4-pack of Pulaski Pils from Maplewood Brewery & Distillery. Here's a beer in the spirit of a simple, easy-to-drink lager but with a little extra malt and bit of hop in its step. It's a well-balanced but you can tell there is a more interesting mix of ingredients and flavors all coming together than you might have otherwise expected.
