Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

The Iron Claw

This film will rip your heart out! Now I knew nothing about the Von Erich family walking into this film now after seeing how their story played out not only did it grab my attention but made me want to read about it after the film. The performances from the whole cast is top notch and the story itself will both engage you but also break you down to tears. The Iron Claw is definitely one of the most surprising films of the year that really stood out to me for its acting and its shocking true story. 

Firstly, Sean Durkin brought such a rawness to the frame that is electric and simmers in emotion as he explores the trauma and pressure of how a father can destroy his kids if he puts a expectation on them to be perfect in order to get his validation. The film delves head first into the minds of each kids and their struggles they go through I thought this film was going to be some generic sports drama and I am so glad that I was wrong. It dug deeper then I thought it would which was amazing as their are very few films that actually go into the heads of athletes their is only one that has done it so successfully before and that’s Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull. So to see a film that focuses on the athlete more than the style of the sport was actually fleshing to see as it is done a ton in film. He put his characters first then the style which worked so well in its favour and is why it is getting the high praise for its fantastic ability at its great writing and chapter depth that may be hard to watch at times but plays out the honesty of how the events went down. Its a harrowing story of family, tragedy, pressure and the film tackles all that in such a great way that will touch your heart and make you appreciate your family it both is devastating and uplifting all at once and Sean Durkin can entertain the audience with the great wrestling scenes for sure but its in the more smaller and intimate moments where the film shines the most. The tone and the themes presented in the film are amazingly honest and gives images you cannot look away from the writing and style in the Iron Claw is truly terrific. 

Secondly, The performances are all stellar! You have such a talented cast giving amazing work from the likes of Jeramy Allen White, Holt McCallany and then a career best performance by Zac Efron. Efron truly is on another level in this film giving the greatest work of his career with a tragic yet compelling performance that is full of emotional sadness that will destroy your heart he is captivating giving a Oscar worthy performance people will be talking about. The entire cast is solid theirs no doubt about it but it’s the performance by Efron that will amaze you. 

Lastly, The Iron Claw is a tragic story about what happens when siblings are pushed to the breaking point from their father and the devastating effect it had on them all individually. It’s masterfully written and directed by Sean Durkin in an incredible screenplay that perfectly captures the bond and dynamic of their relationship and really flourishes onscreen. With truly top notch performances from each actor from top to bottom but it is the work from Zac Efron giving a career best performance that will rattle you. The Iron Claw is a devastatingly emotional ride that Is among one of the best of the year and a film I recommend everyone go see. 

This film takes place around the Von Erich family and the tragedy that befell the wrestling family

Rated R : Some Sexuality|Language|Drug Use|Suicide

Zac Efron : Efron gives the best performance of his entire career! Now Zac has been showing the world recently that he wants to broaden his range as an actor because ever since his role in Neighbours back in 2014 where he showed the world he was more then just High School Musical and that he also can do comedy and well people have been taking notice. He also did his first really juicy role in the Ted Bunny Biopic in 2019 even though that film was a mess narratively he was the best part of it as people agreed myself included. So seeing him constantly find roles that challenge him to present a version of himself people haven’t seen is very exciting to watch and in the Iron Claw he gives his finest hour as an actor. As he plays Kevin Von Erich the eldest brother who wants to be a good wrestler but there is so much going on in his head on why he wants that. His father has instilled in his head at a early age that he should take up wrestling due to his dad never succeeding at his dream of wrestling so he threw his dream onto his kids and are essentially succeeded in the dream he never saw come true. Which is not fair for his kids as they have so much pressure to be perfect and shaped into this ideal image he has in his head of them which they can never amount to no matter how hard they try as their dads picture of them is unreachable. Efron got in ripped shape for this role getting his body in the best shape he’s ever been in for a role. You can see the amount of preparation and dedication he put into this role as he disappeared entirely into the headspace of Kevin Von Erich. As he climbs the ranks of the wrestling world to eventually sharing the spotlight with his brothers he learns to share his dream with his family as even though he wants to celebrate his brothers achievements theirs a part of him that hungers for it to be just for him. Efron is able to say so much with his the look on his face as he holds so much back as he takes so much in and says very little back as we are seeing what’s in his head without him having to utter a single word. The total mental stress he goes under is exhausting and once the tragedies in his family’s start occurring your waiting to see him break down and scream but he doesn’t he takes them on hit after hit and his life becomes the most exhausting fight of his life that’s worse then anything he fought in the ring. Efron has a moment where he is in the ring and is going up against someone who’s been trashing him in the press and the moment he gets in the fight he lets all that anger just wash over him and totally take over and uses a family fight move on the person and even when the ref’s tells him to stop he is literally fighting off the people to let him finish on taking his psychical anger out on this person that disrespected his family’s name. and then theirs another moment where he fights his dad in a heated moment of intense passion in the only scene he raises his voice really and grabs his father and repeats you were supposed to look after him. You can feel the sheer passion in Efron’s voice and the anger mixed with the heartache as he is both devastated and angry with his father for failing as a parent because he put his dreams first and his kids mental health second. Efron is truly on another level of greatness you just can see the weight of the sadness build up and up over the course of the film and it explodes brilliantly in those two very gut wrenching moments where Efron just lets everything out and lays it all on the floor for the audience to see his heavy heart be heard and he truly delivers his best work as an actor with his portrayal of Kevin in this film. Its a performance I think should be recognized for awards consideration he is that good and he goes through all the stages of grief multiple times in this film and gives a respectful portrayal of the person he is playing while going places emotionally we have never seen him go and stretching his heart on what he can do as an actor both psychically and emotionally. He Is truly outstanding in this film giving a heartbreaking and electric leading performance. 

Sean Durkin : Durkin gives a great directed film that explores the trauma of pressure! Sean didn’t do a paint by numbers biopic which this easily could have been as theirs millions upon millions of those. There are a handful that actually stand out among the best and the best ones are usually character driven ones that yes revolve around sports but it isn’t the central aspect of the film. This film accomplishes that in spades as what is amazing about what he brings to the Iron Claw is that he cares more about the people outside the ring and the fight scenes second which made the story more memorable as sure it may not go into intense detail of each fight they did but it goes way deeper into their personal lives and their inner conflict that went on in the family. Sean focuses the story on how insanely pressured the kids were by their dad and the mother wasn’t instrumental in their trauma but she could of done better and stepped in when their father was being way to hard on them as she just let his behaviour happen which is not okay. It also shows the mountain of tragedy that fell upon the family and how much Kevin in particular had to overcome from the pressure of his father and the Adsense of his mothers attention to the deaths in his family that would of broken most people he remained tall with his head held high and did his best. It is yes about educating people about the Von Erich story but also about hoe much tragedy can fall upon one person and not let it define who you are which I think is a really deep rooted message to take away from and also the love of brothers that was shared between them all even in their darkest moments each brother was their for one another when their parents weren’t and Sean shows that in sometimes very dark and brutally honest ways where most filmmakers wouldn’t show but he knew it was essential to the story and had no choice. The sheer raw truth he brings to the film made the film really stay with you after you watch it and then he gets great performances from the entire cast and a truly special one from Zac Efron Sean Durkin really shows the strenuous relationship can have on a family and how bad it can really get if parents don’t look after their kids the way they need them to be their. It is a hard watch but Sean Durkin holds no punches and shows the story in how it went down and also the love these brothers had for one another that will move you Sean Durkin does a brilliant job at bringing this story to the screen.