IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER (THE IRON CLAW)

Is professional wrestling a sport?

Some people would argue it used to be until US wrestling corporations took it over in the 1980s and started scripting matches.

With its over the top pre-bout trash talk and its emphasis on story arcs for its outlandish stars, wrestling is hard to take seriously.

In fact, it's fair to say it's panto - with the emphasis on pants.

Nevertheless it continues to fascinate filmmakers and it has to be admitted there have been some pretty decent movies about it.

In the past two decades, audiences have been exposed to comedic takes on wrestling.

These have ranged from Jared and Jerusha Hess and Mike White's 2006 Mexican wrestling comedy 'Nacho Libre' with Jack Black to Stephen Merchant's 'Fighting With My Family' with Florence Pugh starring in 2019 as Paige, a real life WWE wrestling legend from Norwich.

That same year, Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz gave us a feelgood wrestling road movie 'The Peanut Butter Falcon' in which Zack Gottagen's wrestling obsessed 22 year old with Down's Syndrome coaxes Shia La Beouf's fisherman into taking him to wrestling school.

Darren Aronofsky's 2008 movie 'The Wrestler' took a far more serious approach and probably should have won Mickey Rourke the Best Actor Oscar for his bone crushing performance as a competitor on his last legs at the bottom rung of "the sport".

In 'The Iron Claw,' writer-director Sean Durkin takes a similar straight laced approach, focusing on the tragic story of the Von Erich wrestling dynasty.

Based in Texas, the Von Erichs dominated pro wrestling in the state for two generations before finally securing a tilt at world titles on the US national stage.

However the family were also purported to be cursed.

In a career best performance, Zac Efron plays Kevin, the second oldest of the Von Erich siblings - the son of Holt McCallany's former pro and owner of a Texan wrestling franchise, Fritz and Maura Tierney's God fearing Doris.

Fritz - whose real name is Jack Adkisson - had a signature move "the iron claw" in his professional days but he never got a shot at wrestling for the World Heavyweight title.

In Durkin's film, he instead lives vicariously through his children - hoping to turn them into champions.

Having tragically lost his oldest son Jack Jr as a child, Fritz initially focuses on making Kevin a world champion but tells his other sons, Harris Dickinson's mouthy David and Stanley Simons' music enthusiast Mike that he wants them to have a shot at the crown too.

Another son, Jeremy Allen White's 's Kerry is forging his own path, harbouring dreams of making the US team at the 1980 Olympic Games as a discus thrower.

Fritz also ranks his sons in order of who he currently favours, informing them at the breakfast table that they can move up and down the rankings depending on how they perform in the ring.

At the start of Durkin's film, Kevin commands the top slot as he captures the Texas Heavyweight Championship title.

He also starts dating Lily James's Pam after she brazenly approaches him after a bout.

While dating, Kevin tells Pam the Von Erich curse is rumoured to have been. brought about by Fritz's decision to change his surname to his mother's - even though her family has a history of regular tragedy.

Kevin starts to slip down his father's rankings when he takes a long time to get back up on his feet during a non title fight with Kevin Anton's World Heavyweight champion Harley Race after being thrown onto a concrete floor.

David delights Fritz, however, with his trash talk after the fight which Kevin wins by disqualification.

Kerry suffers a personal blow when US President Jimmy Carter announces the country will be boycotting the Moscow Olympics over the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan.

Fritz talks him instead into becoming a pro wrestler and he fights alongside Kerry and David, winning the Six Man Tag Team Championship.

David is chosen by Fritz to represent the family at a national level in a bout against Aaron Dean Eisenberg's NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair.

But as the four brothers set about trying to realise their father's dreams of world title success, tragedy repeatedly strikes - adding further fuel to the fire to talk about a family curse.

Durkin has proven before in his movies 'Martha Marcy May Marlene' and 'The Nest' that he has a nose for a good story and a decent eye for strong visuals.

And so it proves in his third feature which fuses the thrills of the ring with the heavy drama outside of it.

You don't have to be a fan of muscly men in large underpants theatrically flinging themselves and each other around a wrestling ring to enjoy the movie.

And that's because there's plenty of family drama outside the ring to relish.

A lot is asked of a bulked up Zac Efron who up to now has failed to really convince as a lead actor.

However he brings a real commitment and passion to the role of Kevin and shows that he is more than up to the task of carrying a family drama.

Sporting a dodgy haircut, he stoically endures aches and pains inside the ring and heartache outside of it.

It is such a good performance, he should count himself unlucky not to have figured more strongly in this year's awards season chat.

Jeremy Allen White reaffirms his burgeoning reputation as a screen character actor, bringing his Dustin Hoffman style intensity to the role of Kerry.

Harris Dickinson also impresses as David in a role that you could imagine a younger Owen Wilson might have tried to carry off but would not have bettered.

Stanley Simons turns in arguably the most heart shattering performance of them all as the sibling who is least enthusiastic about his daddy's wrestling dreams.

Lily James is her usual sugar sweet natured screen self, while Maura Tierney does a decent job looking haunted and devastated throughout the film.

In his most substantial movie part yet, McCallany comes close to stealing the show as the Von Erichs' pushy dad.

However it is Efron who ultimately triumphs.

There's some nifty cinematography from Durkin's Hungarian DP Matyas Erdely, with a 'Raging Bull' inspired black and white recreation of Fritz's days in the ring at the start of the movie and the rest of the film bathed in the hazy, sweaty heat of constant battle inside and outside the ring.

Film editor Matthew Hannam does a decent job too, ensuring the pace of the film never sags and there's a sturdy soundtrack featuring needle drops like the Blue Oyster Cult's 'Don't Fear The Reaper,' John Denver's 'Thank God, I'm A Country Boy' and Rush's 'Tom Sawyer'.

'The Iron Claw' is one of those movies you feel should pack more of a punch until its full impact starts to creep up on you days later.

Reflecting on the film, you will find yourself being struck by how Kennedyesque the story is

Tragedy befalls the Von Erichs just like America's most famous political dynasty and it is all the more remarkable because it's true.

Ultimately, you will walk away with a deeper appreciation of Efron as an actor.

Let's hope he continues to stretch himself after such a groundbreaking performance as a lead actor because it could be the ignition of a really special career.

('The Iron Claw' opened in UK and Irish cinemas on February 9, 2024 and was made available on demand on March 25, 2024)

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IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER (THE IRON CLAW)

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