I never did see "The Iron Claw," the 2023 biographical sports drama about the Von Erich professional wrestling family out of Dallas, but I had read these contemporary reviews in The New Yorker.
In short, Fritz creates a spotlight too big for his sons to escape and too bright for them to endure, and tragedy ensues—and ensues and ensues—and Kevin, as the oldest living son and a paragon of responsibility, takes it very hard when he can't prevent it.
And,
The work of a sports drama is, in some sense, to transcend the easy marvel of athletes' physiques in favor of other, deeper stuff, like inner strife and sentiment. But in "Iron Claw" the body is relevant for how it testifies to the hard life of the family's chosen sport. The three oldest Von Erich sons gain renown wrestling as a team, and for a time they triumph. Traveling across the country to compete, they are Texas fabulous: beef-fed boys in velour and lamé, carousing in tight tanks and tighter denim. Durkin, working with the cinematographer Mátyás Erdély and the costume designer Jennifer Starzyk, wants us to see the body as a hewn product: a vascular, clenching, clothes-busting display. Erdély's handheld camera chases Kevin's nimble, ultra-tan form around the ring, catching flashes of heaving muscle and theatrical grimaces framed by He-Man hair.
Notes: (1) The spotlight quote is from "'The Iron Claw' Is a Combustible Family Drama of Love, Loss, and Pro Wrestling," Richard Brody, December 20, 2023. The second quote is from "The Poignant Physicality of Zac Efron," Lauren Michele Jackson, December 22, 2023. (2) I still hope to see the movie. (3) I recently cancelled my subscription.
