The court: The Von Erichs were one of professional wrestling's greatest dynasties, dominating the ring in the 1970s and 1980s with their trademark charisma (a group of close-knit brothers and their legendary wrestler father), killer kayfabe and signature move , the “iron claw.”
But outside the ring, the Von Erichs struggled against a series of personal tragedies: As father Fritz (Holt McCallany) pushed his sons further and further along the pipeline to a world championship, one brother after another — David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) and the younger Mike (Stanley Simons) suffer one horrific twist of fate after another.
And in the middle, there's the oldest surviving brother, Kevin (Zac Efron), who lives with the grief of watching the so-called “Von Erich curse” destroy his family. At the same time, he struggles against the ambitions of his demanding, career-driven father – and the fear that the curse will pass on to his wife Pam (Lily James) and their children.
My Four Sons Fight: Writer/Director Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene, The nest) has always seemed, in part, to be interested in the power structures of family—how they lift us up and stifle us in equal measure, especially when we're in the stranglehold of a domineering father figure. With The Iron Clawthese concerns are writ large in an appropriately long, tear-jerking melodrama, a melodrama that feels ripped right out of an Arthur Miller play.
From its opening scene, a black and white wrestling match that feels like NWA borrowed a page from Raging Bull, The Iron Claw sets the scene for a family that is both upgraded and destroyed by the competitiveness of professional wrestling. Father Fritz (McCallany, a study in calculated paternalism) is a stern taskmaster whose idea of supporting his boys is to pit them against each other for his approval. “I'm ranking all of you boys, you know that,” he says early on, “but rankings can change.” It's clear he sees Kevin et al as an extension of his own failed wrestling career: Their successes are his and damned if he's not going to do everything he can to put a World Championship belt on the ranch he shares with the boys and his wife Doris (Maura Tierney).
Second-Older Sibling Syndrome: But coloring the deeper ranks and subtle manipulation of their father is the brothers' deep, abiding love for each other, which Darkin plays with remarkable charm. Each brother exists on a sliding scale between his dreams and those of his father: Kerry's Olympic dreams (scuttled by Carter's decision to withdraw from the 1980 Olympics due to the USSR's involvement in Afghanistan) and love Mike's for the music.