I didn't grow up watching wrestling, so I was in my 20s before I even considered the sport something worth learning about (and was shocked to learn that some of these macho wrestlers are ardent supporters of women's rights). And it wasn't until I watched John Oliver's 2019 segment on the WWE that I realized how sucky the business of wrestling is--that wrestlers are contract workers who aren't guaranteed health insurance and that they're often pressured to go back into the ring too soon after they injure themselves, which of course can lead to more and greater injuries, addiction to pain medication, and untimely death.
So, I went into Sean Durkin's film The Iron Claw knowing nothing about the Von Erich family except that they suffered from numerous tragedies and were said to have a family curse. Well, the 2 hour and 12 minute film doesn't even have the time to get into ALL the tragedy this family of six brothers experienced. In fact, one entire brother--Chris Von Erich--isn't even mentioned in the movie! But Chris (as well as most of the wives of the various brothers) being left out isn't intended as a snub, it's a conscious choice on the part of the director to make a film that captures the heart of the story of the Von Erich "curse" and the brotherly love that the curse couldn't destroy...without being a repetitive slog by going into death after death after death. The fact is, of the six Von Erich brothers, only one--Kevin--made it into older adulthood.
Kevin is the main focus of The Iron Claw and is portrayed by Zac Efron in a wonderful performance. Kevin is the oldest of the living Von Erich brothers (his older brother, Jackie, having died when Kevin was 5 years old) but he's the second favorite son. Patriarch Fritz Von Erich (Mindhunter's Holt McCallany) is open about his ranking of his sons, from favorite to least favorite, and Kerry Von Erich (The Bear's Jeremy Allen White) is third oldest but the apple of his pop's eye. However, Kerry is away at college working to become an Olympian in discus throwing, and so Fritz focuses his energy on training Kevin and second oldest (but 3rd favorite) son David (Harris Dickinson) in the art of wrestling. Additionally, there is Mike Von Erich (Stanley Simons), a gentle kid who loves music but gets pressured into wrestling like all the Von Erich boys do.
Look, a lot of stuff happens in the movie and I'm not going to get into all of it. What this movie is really about to me is how an abusive father and an enabling mother couldn't smother the love these brothers had for each other. Fritz Von Erich is portrayed as more quietly abusive--he doesn't scream or hit, but he exerts a constant, crushing pressure on all his sons from birth (and apparently he was way worse in real life than he is portrayed in the movie). Meanwhile, Doris Von Erich was a religious woman who allowed her sons to be abused by their father while dragging everyone to church on Sunday. In addition to straight up playing favorites with his sons, Fritz pitted them against each other to push one (he probably didn't care which one) to rise to the highest ranks in wrestling. And nothing--not even the death of a son--would snuff out Fritz's ambition. He never stopped pushing and it destroyed his family.
To me, the "Von Erich curse" is simply the curse of toxic masculinity. It's the curse of abusive parents. It's the curse of genetic predispositions for mental health and addiction issues which are ignored and downplayed because, well, you gotta man up. It's the curse of wrestling as a sport with little to no protections. Three of the Von Erich brothers died by suicide and one died possibly from a drug overdose or possibly from injuries sustained in the ring. Either way, all of these deaths were likely preventable if these men had sought help, slowed down, and had been supported by their family. They were not, and so they died--at tragically young ages too.
The Iron Claw shows the various points at which these tragedies could have been prevented. It's frustrating to watch these men put their bodies through hell to achieve their father's dreams. And maybe those dreams were shared by the sons, but it's hard to be sure where Fritz's ambition stops and the sons' ambition begins.
The film ends with two cathartic scenes that nearly brought me to tears: a scene depicting Kerry Von Erich reuniting with his brothers--including Jackie--in the afterlife. Surprisingly, this didn't feel cheesy to me. The final scene shows Kevin Von Erich crying while playing with his young sons. He tells his sons "a man shouldn't cry" and they counter with "Everyone cries. We cry all the time." He then tells them he's crying because he "used to be a brother" and his sweet little boys say "We'll be your brothers, Dad." MY HEARTSTRINGS. Again, this scene could have been cheesy, but it just felt right. Like the Von Erich curse has finally been broken through love and a rejection of the old tropes of masculinity. And, indeed, Kevin Von Erich is still alive to this day. He's still married to his loving wife and has 4 kids and a passel of grandkids. He managed to escape the curse.
The film isn't perfect. Some of the writing--particularly the scenes with Fritz Von Erich--feel heavily expository and clunky (I suppose some expository dialogue was required to keep the audience up to speed). But the movie has heart. And even though it's an incredibly tragic story, it doesn't feel unkind or cruel, if that makes sense. Again, the main message I got from The Iron Claw is that the love between the brothers Von Erich couldn't be crushed by their abusive dad, their enabling mom, the brutal sport that was their trade, the drugs they became addicted to, or even death itself. It's a testament to the power of sibling connection and I was here for it.
Grade: B+
No comments:
Post a Comment