The Iron Claw (2023)

Watched 12/21/23 (theater)

A shrine to the imperfection and resilience of the human body, an observation on nature vs nurture, and a ‘70s/‘80s sports movie take on The Godfather, there sure is a lot going on in A24’s Christmas release. It’s a movie about how far you can come physically just to have unforeseen mental challenges wash it all away, a movie about the important intersection between ultra-hyper machismo and ultra-sensitive conversations that maybe we don’t have often enough because we’re scared, set in our ways, etc. It’s a movie I believe most people will be able to relate to in one way or another. Clocking in at 2 hours and 12 minutes, it’s one of the few movies this year that I actually wish was longer. And yet, despite my one or two notes on the script, The Iron Claw undoubtedly cuts with a razor-sharp knife in its runtime, so sharp that while I wanted more, I remain unsure if I could have endured much beyond what we already got.

Without spoiling too much, The Iron Claw is a Shakespearean rise and fall that operates in that Great Man/Great Family narrative structure that I am prone to love but grade harshly on if done without the right care and detail. Especially being based on a true story, I was ready to be critical, planning to read the true story after seeing the movie to find out what was left out of the script. After seeing the picture and doubly so after doing post-watch research, I can confidently say this is one of my favorite movies of the year.

One of the greatest things that movies do for people is get them excited about something, and this one got me so excited that I crawled out of bed at 7 to start working out, ate a good breakfast, and went on a long run. The first half of this movie does that sports movie thing of priming your adrenaline with montages, righteously combining ‘80s hits that are allowed to linger, NOT playing 5 seconds of 30 different hits that have nothing to do with the scenes they show up in. When Rush’s Tom Sawyer cues up on Mike’s speaker, it’s a thrilling in-universe intro to an actual set of events that may have really had that contemporary song blaring in the background. This is a movie devoid of bullshit, always getting to the heart of its brutal true story.

Amidst all the brutality, which I am reluctant to get into too much for those that don’t know the story, Zac Efron’s transformative performance as Kevin is the glue that holds together what could have slipped into torturous tedium. He is set up so well as the dumb, genuine, caring, thoughtful brother and protector of brothers. When shit hits the fan, he is continually given focus, us watching how he deals with each and every low that the Von Erich family goes through.

There are setups and payoffs, a strong performance from Lily James, and an insanely built body on Efron’s side as he is served a giant bowlful of acting opportunities. Yet the script and actor miraculously avoid melodrama and eye-rolly awards clips. With all of the instances of what could have been delirium and insanity, the movie chooses to be quieter, more meditative, falling back on really-well-done character-building set up in the first half. 

If I did have to name that qualm I had, it would be that the brothers around Kevin aren’t fully explored. But to do that, the movie would have had to have been 30 minutes longer. After reading the true story online, it seems that perhaps that other version may have existed, but was trimmed for time. And like I noted earlier, I think the movie might have slipped into punishing territory if it had lasted much longer. The brothers are all acted tremendously, lending a savage credibility to the events that unfold while not skipping past an enormous amount of groundwork bonding that gets laid in the first half and even in between the crescendos in the second half, always with Efron anchoring. We mostly see the brothers through Kevin’s eyes and perspective, and that may take a little away from the development of what leads to the family’s catastrophes, but this was already a throat punch by a grim reaper with brass knuckles, and so what we got was enough for me. Emotional coherence, honesty, and subtlety were never sacrificed at the altar of Oscar moments, which is all too rare in the landscape of false gods that is the academy awards release season.

9.5/10