Review: 'The Iron Claw' a Tender, Tragic Examination of Brotherhood, Masculinity, and Wrestling

Brotherhood is the beating heart of compelling sports biopic "The Iron Claw."

Starring Zac Effron, Jeremy Allen White, and Harris Dickinson, the film is written and directed by Sean Durkin ("The Nest," "Martha Marcy May Marlene"). Following the real-life Von Erich family, it's a tender yet tragic examination of family, masculinity, and wrestling.

Well-acted and sharply crafted, "The Iron Claw" opens in a wide shot of an empty arena and wrestling ring. It looms over their lives. A dissolve into a muscular man looming over the camera introduces the two leads' father, Fritz (Holt McCallany), a ruthless wrestling competitor. Using his signature move the "iron claw," a vicelike grip with his hand on a person's face juxtaposes with his affectionate demeanor with his two young sons after the match.

Like other films this year, "Maestro" and "Poor Things," it opens in black-and-white (indicating the boys' youth) before quickly shifting to color.

We see a close-up of Zac Efron's engorged, muscular body. Efron has always been charming. Here, he gives a restrained, nuanced, and career-best performance.

Voiceover narration from Kevin (Efron) explains the family "curse." He says their mother tried to protect them with religion, while their father tried to protect them with wrestling, telling them if they were "the toughest, the strongest, the most successful, nothing could ever hurt us."

Set in the late 1970s, Kevin and his younger brother David (Harris Dickinson, who gives one of the best performances of the year in Charlotte Regan's "Scrapper") wrestle together in professional matches. Retired professional wrestler Chavo Guerrero, Jr. advised the wrestling choreography.

Kevin's father is his coach. Fritz tells his youngest son Mike (Stanley Simons) to "bulk up," and disturbingly declares rankings for his favorite children. Kevin asks his mother Doris (Maura Tierney, an always great underrated actress) to talk to dad, as he's too tough on Mike. But she rebuffs him, saying, "That's between them."

Kevin and his brothers work out and train. Moments of quiet joy emerge, as in a scene of Kevin, David, and Mike lounging in rafts on a river on a sunny day. But tragedy shrouds the entire film, and a melancholic tone permeates.

Olympic athlete Kerry (Jeremy Allen White, exceptional in series "The Bear"), returns home after President Carter announces the U.S. won't participate in the Olympics in the Soviet Union. Their father wants him to join his brothers Kevin and David in wrestling.

Striking cinematography by Mátyás Erdély ("Son of Saul," "The Nest") and editing by Matthew Hannam highlight the constant tensions between joy and grievous loss: a championship win, then an accident; a wedding, then death.

A haunting dissolve shot of each brother seeping into each other visually indicates their pain and unity. Another beautiful frame shows Fritz and his four sons huddling together after a win.

Kevin eventually avoids his supportive wife (Lily James) and infant child, worried tragedy will befall them, too. He throws himself into training, brutally slamming his body into the ring while dealing with grief – and perhaps also punishing himself for not being able to save everyone.

In a beautiful and heartbreaking scene, Kevin apologizes to his young sons for crying, saying men don't cry. The children's reassurance that it's okay is a salve to toxic masculinity.

It's hard not to think of Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler," another tragic film about a wrestler arduously pushing his body beyond its limits. But at the core of "The Iron Claw" lies the camaraderie between the brothers, their unwavering love and protection for each other. Amidst their father's ambitious and critical eye, brutal workout regimes, flamboyant wrestling matches, and merciless twists of fate, the brothers show kindness and tenderness to each other, offering a beautiful haven in a cruel world.

"The Iron Claw" opens in theaters Friday, December 22, 2023.