{"id":27721,"date":"2023-12-21T13:33:20","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T21:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=27721"},"modified":"2023-12-21T13:33:20","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T21:33:20","slug":"the-iron-claw-is-a-gripping-biopic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=27721","title":{"rendered":"THE IRON CLAW is a Gripping Biopic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Running Time: 132 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This film from A24 opens at theaters on December 22<\/strong>nd<\/strong><\/sup>, 2023.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This reviewer is no authority on the subject of professional\nwrestling, but does remember watching it on television as a kid in the early\n1980s. In fact, this era appears to have been something of a \u201cgolden age\u201d that\nintroduced viewers to some of the biggest names in the industry. While not as\nfamous as personalities like Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, the Von Erich\nbrothers were also from this period and performed in leagues like the WCCW, NWA\nand WWE (known as the WWF during the 80s). The Iron Claw<\/em> is a biopic\nthat tells their story, including their rise to the top and the many tragedies\nthat befell them. The end result is surprisingly compelling and will impress\nmore than your average wrestling enthusiast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The story introduces viewers to Von Erich patriarch and\nwrestler Fritz (Holt McCallany) and his devoutly religious wife, Doris (Maura\nTierney). Frustrated at never having won the WCW wrestling title, Fritz trains\nhis sons Kevin (Zac Efron), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), Lance (Maxwell Jacob\nFriedman) and David (Harris Dickinson) to follow in his footsteps and, at\npoints, even pits them against each other for his affection. Protective older\nsibling Kevin does his best to encourage his brothers and rises in the\nprofessional ranks, winning approval from his dad in the process. He also\nreceives support from girlfriend Pam Adkisson (Lily James), who voices concern\nas the lead and the young Von Erich men face intense pressure to succeed. After\na series of horrible events, Kevin becomes convinced that the Von Erich family\nname is cursed.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, this is a film that does feature plenty of wrestling\nand offers insight into what goes one behind the scenes of pro wrestling\nleagues. Still, the characters are the primary focus here. Efron\u2019s Kevin is the\nmain character and while the actor is better known for his work in comedic\nfare, he delivers the dramatic goods and gives an exceptional performance. The\nactor looks virtually unrecognizable and effectively conveys the inner turmoil\nthat the role requires. Kevin is pushed and pulled between being a devoted son\nwanting to achieve his father\u2019s dreams, while also protecting the health and\nsafety of his younger brothers. Eventually, he is forced to question the manner\nin which he has been raised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And naturally, the movie dissects the strange family dynamic\nand gets into more detail about the competitiveness thrust upon the brothers\nand its effects on each of them. The young men are sympathetically shown\ndealing with depression, drug abuse and various other issues as they try to\nsucceed for their parents, who rarely show any compassion. Littlest brother\nDavid isn\u2019t even interested in sports, but is pushed to continue in the family\ntradition. As things go wrong, Mother Doris seems to explain every tragedy away\nsimply as an act of God, while dad Fritz fails to take responsibility and, at\none point, throws the blame onto Kevin\u2019s shoulders. It\u2019s all compelling to\nwatch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On occasion, the movie could do with even more subtlety.\nPam\u2019s initial comment about Kevin having, \u201cOlder brother syndrome,\u201d does feel a\nbit on the nose. After all, anyone watching the film will already have a sense\nof his relationship with his siblings. But in general, any critiques of the\nfilm are little more than nit-picks. The movie offers a scene between some of\nthe characters that isn\u2019t based in reality and is instead designed to evoke an\nemotional response, but the moment does effectively tug on the heartstrings (as\ndoes another moment featuring Kevin).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Professional wrestling is by and large, exaggerated and\nover-the-top. This picture wisely takes a more intimate and personal approach\nto the material, featuring great performances and focusing on the smaller\nmoments between family members. It\u2019s not so much a curse as an issue with\nparents arm-twisting and putting the screws on the children until they\nultimately break. The Iron Claw<\/em> is a very wonderful surprise that\ndeserves some consideration this awards season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 132 minutes This film from A24 opens at theaters on December 22nd, 2023. This reviewer is no authority on the subject of professional wrestling, but does remember watching it on television as a kid in the early 1980s. In fact, this era appears to have been something of a \u201cgolden age\u201d that introduced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":27722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[213,2789,6251,8906,9263,10599,13332,13489,21147,21148,21149,21150,23883,24514,24713],"class_list":["post-27721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-213","tag-biopic","tag-drama","tag-harris-dickinson","tag-holt-mccallany","tag-jeremy-allen-white","tag-marua-tierney","tag-maxwell-jacob-friedman","tag-the-iron-claw","tag-the-iron-claw-film-review","tag-the-iron-claw-movie-review","tag-the-iron-claw-review","tag-von-erich","tag-wrestling","tag-zac-efron"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27721\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}