The Iron Claw is an iconic move from the 1980s coined by wrestler Fritz Von Erich and then later performed by his numerous sons in their wrestling careers, with the move becoming the name of the movie dedicated to them and their life. “Iron Claw” follows the Von Erich brothers and their struggle to live up to their father’s expectations of them, their bond as siblings and tragedies that followed their life as a result of the harsh environment they lived in, created by their parents and the presence of wrestling in their life.
The movie is a beautiful display of what it means to be a brother, especially being an older brother and what it means to guide your younger siblings along the way. Kevin Von Erich, played by Zach Efron, is the oldest brother and throughout the movie we see him struggle to take care of his siblings while keeping up with what their father wanted out of them. He pushes his brothers where they need it, but also encourages them to pursue their dreams even if those dreams are outside of wrestling. When his younger brother, Mike, played by Stanly Simons, voices his love for music and wishes to pursue the art he encourages him to follow through with his passions. While Kevin and his other brothers, Kerry and David, are working out to train for fights, Mike is writing song lyrics in their home gym.
The Von Erich family goes through their fair share of tragedy, but the first we see is the death of David, who dies while in Japan for a wrestling event. The Von Erich brothers are broken to their core. However, their father sees this as nothing but a bump in the road and fuel for their fire to keep wrestling. Despite the incredible sense of loss all the brothers are feeling, which reaches the viewers of the movie, we are quickly moved from the passing onto the next step in their wrestling journey.
From here the tragedy only continues as Mike dies from taking his own life and Kerry is severely injured from a motorcycle accident. This leaves Kevin to take on the wrestling world alone which he struggles to do. The movie shows a gradual downfall of Kevin’s mental health becoming too scared to be around his wife or child in fear of hurting them with what was dubbed as the “Von Erich curse.” Kevin puts his whole focus on wrestling in a desperate attempt to hold onto what family he has left and to continue to meet his father’s standards.
This all comes crashing down when Kevin’s last brother, Kerry, meets his end. Upon learning of his brother’s death, Kevin recognized his parents’ contribution to the long line of death that followed their family. For the first time we see Kevin retaliate against his father, standing up for his brothers and himself while understanding that he needs to be there for his wife and children.
The movie ends with a touching scene in which the deceased Von Erich brothers meet again in the afterlife, having the opportunity to meet their oldest brother who died at five years old. The scene shows the deep rooted love and connection that the brothers had, a love that transcended even death.
To wrap it up, “Iron Claw” displayed a wide variety of grief and the different approaches people take to it. It offered a perspective that is often overlooked when it comes to men and their emotions. Kevin cared deeply for his brothers, just as his father cared for his children in his own way however misguided it may have been. The complexity of the way grief strikes a family, of how parents can be complicit in their children’s downfall, and how siblings often have a bond understood only by them, all comes together to make a deeply emotional movie that is highly suggested for anyone to watch if they appreciate deep and meaningful story telling.
