There's a lot of inner turmoil in The Iron Claw, both for its characters and the film itself. It's painstakingly authentic. Stars Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson really did transform their bodies into hulking masses to play wrestling royalty. The colorful costumes and hideous perms are perfect recreations. The cinematography and music are all time-period accurate. But in all that pursuit of exact detail, writer-director Sean Durkin forgot emotional authenticity.
This is the feel-bad movie of the year, a non-stop parade of misery contrasted with some perfectly executed wrestling matches. The acting is excellent across the board. But in a story this repetitive and chock-full of tragedy, no one gets to play a real character. Efron comes closest, in his best performance to date. As Kevin Von Erich, he's the heir apparent to his dad's wrestling empire, but consistently fails to achieve the impossible standards set for him. Brothers David (Dickinson) and Kerry (White) eventually surpass him, but not without significant cost to their physical and mental health.
Holt McCallany is perfectly cast as their overbearing father. The imposing figure can often be a tender actor, given the right material. But as the patriarch of the Von Erich family, he might as well just wear a "World's Worst Dad" T-shirt and not say a word. The manipulation and emotional abuse of his sons has no variation or nuance. He's so one-note, I kept expecting him to repeat the immortal line from the musical parody Walk Hard ("The wrong kid died.").
And boy oh boy is there a lot of death. The film doesn't pull any cheap tricks in this regard. The Von Erichs really did experience so many tragedies they began to think they were cursed. (Even brother Chris, who also wrestled and died by suicide, isn't even mentioned in the film.) But it almost becomes a countdown to the next devastating phone call or funeral. In the right hands, this could be a tear-jerker for men, like Brian's Song. But because everyone in the film is an archetype and not a real person, the intended emotions never connect.
There are real moments of beauty in the film. Unsurprisingly they come when things slow down and allow us to get glimpses of the Von Erichs' humanity. But Durkin can't stop racing towards tragedy, holding the film back from greatness.
