Scroll through Holt McCallany’s credits and you’ll notice that his characters’ names tend to include “sergeant” or “colonel” or “detective.” McCallany’s broad chest and granite face have filled up the empty backgrounds in titles ranging from Alien 3 to Fight Club to television’s Mindhunter. The Iron Claw puts him nearer to the center of the screen—and he makes the most of it. As Fritz Von Erich, the real-life pater familias who directed his four sons into professional wrestling in the 1980s, to disastrous results, McCallany has the space to give his considerable physical presence an additional, emotional layer. In this case, a terrifying one. Like a maniacal King Lear—only with sons who actually like each other—Fritz only speaks in intimidating “motivational” speeches, emphasizing winning and strength, while blithely telling his sons which one is his favorite, then warning them that the ranking “can always change.” Also standing out as two of the Von Erich brothers are a nearly unrecognizable Zac Efron as Kevin, a beefy brute with a tender heart, and The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White as Kerry, an undersized fighter who makes up for it with volcanic violence. The movie itself, written and directed by Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Nest), proceeds in a fairly straightforward manner, save for a few stylistic flourishes, including a fixed shot of Kevin flagellating himself by bouncing back and forth against the ropes in blurry fury. The movie’s most distinctive feature, especially as a family biopic, is the tragic nature of this story. The Iron Claw is a downer that ickily sticks with you, despite an attempt in its final moments to offer at least one of the Von Erichs something of a happy ending.
(1/8/2024)
