The Iron Claw 4K 2023 2160p WEB-DL

A biographical movie about the tragic fates of members of the Von Erich dynasty of Texas who made a career in wrestling.

The Iron Claw 4K Review
Texas, 1980s. Former wrestler Fritz von Erich (Holt McCallany) wants to make ring legends out of his four sons. The boys have to put aside their personal dreams in favor of their father's ambitions. At the same time the family is overtaken by an evil fate, one by one taking the lives of the champions.

Last year was remembered for the box office and ideological triumph of "Barbie" Greta Gerwig - a phenomenon that most clearly reflected the status of women in the modern world. Since society is not ready to let go of gender attitudes, "Steel Grip" by Sean Durkin (at the box office in Russia from January 11) can be considered a kind of conservative response to "Barbie" for the conventional "male" audience. Here they offer a detailed and unapologetic assessment of the patriarchal reality in which most young men grow up: with reference to constant authority, pressure, and moral exhaustion. Through the example of one family, a specific sport and several tragedies, Durkin ("Martha Marcy May Marlene," "The Nest") analyzes society in miniature, keeps faith in family values, whose meaning today has completely eroded.

"Ever since I was a kid, I've heard that our family is cursed," introduces the film's central character Kevin Von Erich (a grandiose Zac Efron). All of the von Erichs believed in this prediction in one way or another. The clan lived in Texas, their house full of goblets and other regalia, family photos, crucifixes, guns, a near death experience. Father Fritz idolized wrestling while his groomed sons ran away from home to parties, meeting girls, singing along to rock hits on the radio. Four of the five brothers (the movie out of respect for the family did not show the youngest, Chris, who left at the age of 21) died for various reasons - from suicide to ruptured insides. Only Kevin remains: his perspective on a ruthless fate, his grief and the mental meat grinder into which the audience is offered a glimpse.

The film's source material is ruthless, but Durkin bypasses the straightforwardness and referentiality of "Wikipedia" and infuses the brothers' relationship with humor and a sense of solidarity. Wrestling, combining sport with theatricality, was not part of their plans in the way their father and his odious expectations wanted it to be. Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) planned to become an Olympic athlete, but was forced to return to his father's home because of the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games. Yesterday's high school graduate Mike (Stanley Simons) was much more willing to perform folk music with his own band. David (Harris Dickinson) loved the attention of the crowd, but valued his own freedom more. "Steel Grip," named for Fritz's favorite forbidden move passed down, captures the Von Erichs' lost hopes in the ring, visualizes their multiple identity crises, and moves away from torture porn toward melancholy and the grieving process. The movie sags a bit in the middle, overly engrossed in the slicing of sporting events, and still works more successfully than 90% of today's biopics, exploring the soul rather than dry facts.

Efron's work brings back memories of Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler: brave work ahead of himself, against type, with a stunning physical transformation. It's worth asking: why is the academy silent? Is it really all about the late release from A24 Studios? Or in the elementary unpreparedness for a strong performance from the once smarmy favorite of the young audience? The star of "Mindhunter" McCallany deserves a special mention: his character will give a head start to the despot-teacher J.K. Simmons from "Obsession", while acting as a multi-dimensional, disillusioned, in his own way loving children fighter for archaic ideals. Correctly illuminate the characters Durkin helps cameraman Matyas Erdely, who worked on "Son of Saul". From there, the suffocating set-pieces in a yellow palette, translating all the inner turmoil of the Von Erichs, have migrated.

Watch The Grip as a topical parable, a Greek tragedy, a tale of paradise lost and the "god complex". Watch with those for whom tears are rare, taboo, but absolutely necessary. To watch with fathers and brothers who continue to be molded, hardened against their desires, in the glory of mythical success and cursed titles. Balancing on the edge of odious expectations so that years later they can build their own homes, raise their sons, and force nothing from them. They will not condemn for tears, will embrace and will live a long, long time in the land of eternal happiness.