There are some athletes that don’t even require someone to follow their specific sport for them to be historically resonant – in the case of Kevin Von Erich, it wasn’t just sport, but his entire existence that has drawn considerable notoriety. Hailing from a family of wrestlers who were pushed beyond their limits by their father, they are widely considered the greatest professional wrestling family to ever compete. Their lives have been the subject of considerable discussion and analysis and have been recently dramatized in the form of The Iron Claw, in which director Sean Durkin attempts the nearly impossible task of covering roughly two decades in this family’s life, following their various victories and tragedies that defined their entire existence, with an emphasis on the latter, as the Von Erich family has come to be associated with tragedy just as much as they are with wrestling, which leads to quite a sobering, heartwrenching affair. This is a film that can be extremely difficult in some parts, but Durkin handles it with precision and an earnest attention to detail that helps shed light on the harrowing story of this family, particularly the hardships they encountered over the years. As someone who is quickly becoming an essential voice in contemporary cinema, Durkin has already proven himself to be worth our time – and in choosing to make a film about one of the most tragic sagas in the history of American sport, he confirms his talents and once again brings the same level of complexity and curiosity to a story that only benefits from his keen, meaningful observations, Daring and provocative, and frequently quite disturbing in ways that are quite unexpected, The Iron Claw is a fascinating work that reaffirms the belief that some of the most riveting and compelling stories are those that take unexpected forms, and that even the most simple of premises can be subjected to an insightful, complex character study that challenges many common conventions in unique and fascinating ways.

Durkin is not a filmmaker who is particularly known to adhere to conventions, despite the relative simplicity of his stories. In both of his previous feature films, he took straightforward concepts and developed them into complex, multilayered dramas that were covertly much more than they were advertised. In the case of The Iron Claw, he makes his most audacious film to date, particularly in terms of scope, which is a sprawling sports drama set over several years, depicting the changing dynamic between four brothers, their strict father and doting mother, as well as the various other people that weave in and out of their orbit, including romantic partners, rivals and the legions of fans they accumulate over the years. For any filmmaker, such a story would be simultaneously intriguing and intimidating, and as someone who has made it very clear that he relishes in the challenge, Durkin is more than willing to take on the material for himself. The Iron Claw is an impressively made film, and Durkin shows himself to have quite an eye for detail, taking us through the rise and fall of this family, starting with their steady ascent upwards and then following the downward spiral, in which they were confronted with one tragedy after another. As Kevin says countless times throughout the film, this family is cursed, and the fact that we feel cynicism at the first mention of this supposed curse, and undying belief at the final time it is discussed is only further evidence of the incredible skill that was needed to explore this tragic story, making it not only impactful, but entirely convincing. Durkin’s skillfuln approach to this story is absolutely remarkable, and if this is not the film that finally establishes him as one of the most exciting auteurs of his generation, then it would do an immense injustice to the extraordinary talent he possesses, since it takes quite a bit of work to make a film like The Iron Claw that is both intimate and complex, tackling themes as wide and diverse as familial tension, identity and grief, all of which are defining concepts that have become synonymous with this family and their years of incomprehensible tragedy that followed them like a spectre, lingering just out of view throughout their lives.

The Iron Claw had the challenge of requiring actors who could handle both the physical and emotional aspects of these characters, and had to embody every aspect of these people over the years. The result is one of the best ensembles of the year – the central quartet of brothers are played by Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson and newcomer NAME, while their parents are portrayed by Holt McCallany and Maura Tierney, all of whom turn in exceptional performances. Like every teen idol, Efron was patiently awaiting the one role that would allow him to shed any preconceived notions of his talent (or the lack thereof) and prove his incredible skills. Playing one of the more subtle characters in the film, but whose perspective is the main one through which we view the story, he is exceptional, finding an abundance of gravitas beneath the surface of a man who wanted to succeed, not only in the wrestling ring, but also in his personal life. The actors playing his siblings are all phenomenal, particularly Dickinson and White (both of whom have been working steadily for years, proving themselves to be firm representatives of the future of cinema), who play these tragic young men who lost their lives to the pressures of a sport that was supposed to bring glory to their family, but ultimately turned out to be the source of nothing but tragedy. McCallany and Tierney also warrant discussion, especially since they take characters that could have been one-dimensional archetypes (namely the overbearing, unsympathetic father and the long-suffering, overly religious mother) and turn them into complex, striking characters that serve an important purpose in the film. McCallany in particular stands out – there is a version of this story where Fritz Von Erich is painted as nothing more than a maniacal villain, and even his portrayal in this film is notably unsympathetic, but he works to find the humanity beneath this man who allowed his ambitions to manifest in the cruelty that ultimately drove four of his five sons to their demise. The cast of The Iron Claw is incredible, and commits wholeheartedly to these challenging roles, turning in some of the best performances of the past year, both individually and as an ensemble.

As he has demonstrated previously, Durkin is not one to spend too much time on sentimentality, which has given his films a reputation for being quite cold and aloof. For a film like The Iron Claw, he had the challenge of not only presenting an objective depiction of this family and their varying trials and tribulations, but also doing it in a way that feels authentic and meaningful, rather than just resorting to a bundle of cliched conventions that have been done numerous times before. Durkin was clearly not interested in making a wrestling film – the sequences where the characters engage in their chosen vocation are impressive but otherwise oddly inconsequential outside of being a demonstration of the hostile, harsh world into which they have been placed – a sport that has brought so much enjoyment and satisfaction to generations of viewers is suddenly repurposed as a harrowing, dangerous world that is filled with tragedy. Every preconceived detail of a traditional sports drama is essentially dismissed, with the exception of the bare minimum, which is retained only to give the story some structure. Durkin makes some interesting choices for the sake of developing certain ideas, which include a few major changes to the story (one of the brothers – Chris Von Erich – was entirely excised from the script), as well as the details he chooses to focus on, which prove to be the most essential. This is far from the kind of inspirational sports drama that can be emotionally manipulative in certain parts, and we find that its emotional inventory is a lot stronger in the quieter moments, where the bond between these brothers is emphasized, usually in wordless interactions that are a credit to both the actors’ impeccable skills, and Durkin’s ability to find the tenderness that underlies even the most harsh moments. It’s not a film that is easily unpacked, but we find that the more time we spend looking at the lives of these characters, which are presented in a slightly stream-of-consciousness narrative that guides us through their personal and professional lives, the further can be comprehend the challenges they faced, with everything seeming quite genuine and incredibly compelling, even at its most bleak.

The Iron Claw is yet another striking achievement from one of our most promising young directors, someone who is gradually ascending to be a true master of his craft – and if this film is anything to go by, he has an even brighter future than we may have expected, since his ability to create such a moving examination of the human condition, under the guise of a broad sports drama, is clearly a talent that is worth celebrating. Bleak beyond our comprehension (especially the second half, which is a seemingly endless stream of tragic moments), but still incredibly beautiful in how it shows the unbreakable bond between brothers, The Iron Claw is an immense achievement that may be quite cold and clinical at some points, but it has a genuine sense of heart. Much of this comes in brief moments of abstraction – one of the final scenes where the deceased brothers encounter one another in the afterlife is one of the most moving moments of the year – which punctuate an otherwise bleak, harrowing account of a family that was cursed from the start. Constructed as something of a Shakespearean tragedy, particularly in the inventive structure that divides the story into distinct acts, each one a self-contained vignette into the life of this family, the film is an astonishing work of biographical storytelling that is both complex and provocative, daring and extraordinary beautiful in ways that are something quite unconventional, but still prove to be absolutely extraordinary in what they represent. Durkin is a major talent, and this film shows his ability to direct something on a slightly bigger scale, but without losing the incredible attention to detail and emotional complexity that defined his earlier work. It’s not an easy film, and it can be deeply unsettling in some parts, but it is still an exceptional work that shows a different side of a sport many view as mindless entertainment, peering behind the proverbial curtain and allowing us to observe the experiences of this family as they navigate various victories and losses, albeit not always the kind that are found within the wrestling ring, but rather those that come from the outside world that they pledged to conquer together, a plan that becomes increasingly less likely the more they fall victim to whatever cursed followed them and made them the main players in one of the most tragic stories in the history of professional sport.