The iron claw

Man Vs ManUre

Very good film. Hard to believe it all happened, tho I suspect the tragedies were a lot more to do with drug abuse than is shown in the film. Some of the wrestling footage is short, but I guess that is because there is so many human stories to tell in the film. Great acting all round, very surprised this got ignored by the awards. It could easily have Oscars nominations for best film, director, leading actor, 2 or 3 supporting actors and supporting actress. This movie is a million times better than Barbie or The Holdovers.

Absolutely brilliant movie.

Osmosis Jones

Saw it last weekend, tears streaming down my face in the theatre. Not often you find a story so tragic that the film adaptation actually takes out certain tragedies.

Loved the cast, the 4 brothers had such great chemistry and Holt McCallany plays the intimidating patriarch so well to the point that you really believe even his behemoth sons are terrified of him.

Zac Efron the standout for me, for what is obviously an incredibly physical role he plays the character(/real person) so understated, I think there might be only one scene where he even raises his voice in the whole movie.

EDIT: It also has a truly hysterical Ric Flair impersonation.

El Duda

The Iron Claw – 8.5/10 (Cinema)

Went into this expecting it to be good, but not to be anywhere near the level of The Wrestler, which is one of my favourite films. I was surprised that it wasn’t far off. Shocking that it hasn’t received any awards love. Zac Efron is as good as any performance I’ve seen outside of Murphy and Giamatti. 

Best to keep it vague as I know a lot of people are unaware of the Von Erich story, but be warned it is a very tragic story. 

Harris Dickinson is the next big thing.

Andrew93

Went blind into this film this past weekend. Followed wrestling religiously as a kid in the late 90's early 00's.

Never knew about this family but my god what a tragic story. I also feel like these incidents are more likely related to drug issues than portrayed in the film.

Efron was amazing. Can't believe how well the entire cast performed.

9/10 for me.

Agent Coulson

Fantastic movie.

Zac Efron does an amazing job portraying the gentle soul that is Kevin Von Erich and how mentally strong a man he is as well and he was so lucky to have met Pam who is an unsung hero in his story.

Holt McCallany does a great job however even he couldn't come close portraying what an evil human being Fritz really was.

thegame983

Great Movie.

I had no idea growing up that the Texas Tornado had 'that'.

Ash.J.Williams

If Daniel day Lewis transformed like zack effron for a role we'd never hear the end of it

johnny_ultimate

Well, I have to say I didn’t expect to find the wrestling movie more emotionally engaging than All of us Strangers, but this one really worked for me. Classic, old-fashioned family / sports drama, but Durkin - now pretty firmly established as one of the most quietly accomplished filmmakers of his generation - does put a more modern signature on it too. His smart impulses about what to show and what not to - both in the overarching story and within individual shots - lends the film an unusual yet compelling energy, without undermining the story or characters. This isn’t a subtle film, but it can be surprisingly nuanced in what Durkin communicates in quieter or unspoken moments.

I do think Durkin slightly misjudged the tone in one or two sequences in the final act, where it dips into more overly cheesy sentimentality compared to the frequently restrained, raw yet still heartbreaking vibe in much of the rest of the film. But overall it’s an elegantly handled bit of filmmaking - not without some issues, but full of fine performances and even finer direction.

El Duda

I think it kind of works within the context of the film, but the Ric Flair was awful casting.

Hard not to descend into parody with him tbf, not an easy thing to pull off.

ShagNastii

I'm a massive pro wrestling fan and a massive Von Erichs fan. That said, I wasn't entirely bowled overly the movie. I don't know whether it was whatever mood I was in or the fact I knew the real life story inside out. Have watched a number of fantastic docs on "The Curse".

All the performances (bar the comical Ric Flair part) were fantastic. Holt McCallany and Zack Efron were phenomenal in their transformation into of their characters.

I think it could have possibly benefited from less wrestling set pieces in the film which IMHO were a bit hammy. Maybe some real life footage interspersed could have engaged more.

I'd echo the great but not on level with The Wrestler such is a masterpiece.

Osmosis Jones

I've seen a few complaints that the final scene is too sappy/on the nose but I think the exchange he has with his sons is a wonderful "breaking the cycle" moment.

callaway92

Big Pro Wrestling fan but not much interest in the Von Erich history.

Would a non-wrestling fan Girlfriend (I'd say she hates it) enjoy this?

Loved wrestling growing up although never heard of any of these. Loved it though, reading another one died but even the director thought it was too depressing to add in the film. Only thing I didn't like was the guy doing ric flair and that dream type sequence

Osmosis Jones

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121793690#Comment_121793690

It's a family drama as much as anything, definitely don't need any wrestling interest or understanding to enjoy it imo.

The movie also does a good job explaining the wrestling side of things to an audience who might not be familiar.

Ferris_Bueller

Brilliant movie - best I've seen in the cinema in a good while.

JP Liz V1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121793505#Comment_121793505

He'd have every award going

Zac at least should have been nominated but I think late release left it out of the running so maybe next year

Man Vs ManUre

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121795044#Comment_121795044

It was a late release but it was for this year. I read that the company that made it, A24 just didn’t really push it and put all their attention on their other film (Past Lives). Plus the many actors in the film didn’t really do much promotion. Anyway it’s not nominated but won’t be in the running for next year.

Beric Dondarrion

Watched this the other night, went in to the cinema with only a brief knowledge of the Von Erich family. Thought it was a terrific performance from Zack Efron. Absolutely tragic tale.

The White Wolf

Great film, could of had another hour and yet wouldn't have been enough.

The guy playing Ric Flair didn't actually bother me and I say that as a wrestling fan.

Nigel Fairservice

I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this movie but I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't think Zac Effron had a performance like that in him.

Snake Plisken

Great film really enjoyed it, I went in without watching or readying up on the family but it's absolutely criminal the cast and movie didn't get nominated for any Oscars. Cast was fantastic and great soundtrack. One of those movies you keep thinking about a few days after watching. I watched the Vice documentary about the family as well in their Dark Side of the Ring series so worth seeking that out.

p to the e

The politics and backstabbing within the professional wrestling industry is worthy of a TV series by itself. Multiple territories all vying for the national heavyweight title but like most athletic endeavours, the winner wasn't decided in the ring, it was decided in backrooms with negotiations and buildups laid out months and even years in advance. There was guaranteed twists and double twists along the way. This film delves a bit into this spandex House of Cards but is more akin to a family drama which means that even those not into the wrestling can still enjoy it.

The story of the Von Erichs is well known to anyone interested in professional wrestling purely for the bad luck that enveloped them over decades. It's amazing that they had to cut some of the family tragedies out just to make it seem more believable. There was another brother that shot himself that doesn't even exist in the movie.

I thought the cast was excellent and they all transformed themselves to look the part. Efron seemed to have bought up the entire west coast supply of HGH. His face gave me a scare when I first saw it. It delved into a few saccharine moments towards the end but it definitely deserved better in awards season.

Like a lot of people I'm puzzled by the casting choice of Flair. If you're going to show such an iconic wrestler then you have to get it right and this wasn't right at all. It was nice to see Harley Race show up. A genuine tough guy if anyone was interested in reading up on him.

2smiggy

is it a very depressing film ?

I watched, and liked, million dollar baby, but have no intention of ever watching it again !!

Snake Plisken

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121819829#Comment_121819829

No it's not as depressing as that so I would watch it and I'll actually rewatch The Iron Claw at some stage

Gary_dunne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121819829#Comment_121819829

It's not depressing per se just dealing with a number of tragic events. Well worth a watch whether or not you're a wrestling fan.

My gf who has no interest in wrestling watched and enjoyed it. As stated previously it's more of a family drama than wrestling movie.

For a more in depth look on the Von Erichs I'd recommend 'Dark Side of the Ring' very good docuseries on the bad side of the industry dealing with a different topic/event each episdoe.

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058337065/the-iron-claw

There was another brother who was completely left out ,

The youngest brother Chris, he was 12 years young than Kevien & You guessed it he killed himself to at only 21,
They left him out because they thought it was to much for the movie for another brother to go the same way ,

They also left out that Kerry never told anyone at WWF about his leg & used to shower with his boots on to hide it ( some wrestlers knew) when he was the Texas Tornado, Bam Bam Bigalo is also on record saying he lost his foot in a drug deal gone wrong ,

Heckler

Have no interest in the slightest in either real or fake wrestling and this is one of the best films I've seen in years. Absolutely heartbreaking. Watched on a whim and was blown away. Fantastic movie. Seen it a while back and has really stuck with me.