Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White Shine in Standout Performances at the Premiere of 'The Iron Claw' | Vanity Fair

By Matthew Jacobs

The A24 wrestling drama, The Iron Claw, is now one of the most awaited releases this awards season. This feature is a depiction of the victories and misfortunes of the larger-than-life Von Erich family, helmed by Sean Durkin. The film did not make an appearance at the fall-festival circuit, and instead premiered in Dallas. The screening occurred just after an announcement that the Screen Actors Guild’s strike, which lasted for 118 days, was finally over. The news was received by stars like Jeremy Allen White while they were on the red carpet. 

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Sean Durkin expressed his pleasure at bringing to life the tale of his childhood icons, during the film's introduction at the Texas Theatre. He described making movies about such heroes as realizing a lifelong dream. The Iron Claw's premiere in Dallas was fitting, given the city's connection to the real-life Texas wrestlers portrayed in the film, who were better known to the local audience than the movie's stars, actors Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Stanley Simon, and Harris Dickinson. Von Erich also jokingly mentioned taking Efron spearfishing and turning the four stars into “country boys”.

Despite his penchant for wrestling, this seems to be Durkin's most uncharacteristic project to date. Usually associated with brooding psychodrama themes, Durkin has now ventured into the world of sports saga with, The Iron Claw. The film delves into the tumultuous life of the Von Erich family, which was marked by many tragic events like numerous catastrophic health conditions and suicides which led to the popular belief of a 'Von Erich curse'. This takes the narrative of The Iron Claw in a darker direction as it goes on with its 132-minute run time, prioritizing human tension over feats of strength.

In the film, Efron portrays Kevin, the only surviving son of the Von Erich family. The film chose not to include one of Kevin's brothers to streamline the plot, according to Entertainment Weekly. The deaths of his brothers are depicted to have been the result of aggressive parenting by their father, Fritz Von Erich, himself a National Wrestling Alliance champion. Fritz's desire for his sons to achieve what he couldn't — securing the world title — led to the creation of a family, harboring as much resentment for each other as they did love.

Jeremy Allen White revealed the intention behind the film. He stated, “The goal was to show the tenderness between the brothers and also the survival aspect of it, for the family and Kevin. It’s a tragic, very beautiful story, and I think people will see all the beauty beyond the tragic circumstance.”

The Iron Claw concluded to teary sniffles across the room. While being a tragedy, the film did not forget to include some uplift. While it is a drama, the movie didn't forget to mind the laughs, thanks to Durkin's script and the sight of actors Efron, White and Dickinson in vibrant costumes of the era. The key women characters, played by Maura Tierney and Lily James, add to the film's depth. The movie received an enthusiastic standing ovation when Kevin and the rest of the cast came back on stage as the credits rolled.

The film’s standout performances are easily Efron and The Bear’s It boy White, who have the meatiest roles. The work they put in is tangible. Durkin and cinematographer Mátyás Erdély (The Nest, Son of Saul) shoot the fight scenes in lengthy, roving takes that make clear how well-trained the actors are. They prepared with WWE veteran Chavo Guerrero Jr., who appears in the movie as an opponent known as The Sheik. “The way Sean set out to capture these was, more often than not, a start-to-finish wrestling match,” Efron explained during Thursday’s press conference. “We would emerge, jump into the ring, hype up the crowd, start the match, do all the moves in succession, hold up the [championship] belt, and then we would exit. We were doing several 12- or 10-minute-long takes in a day — wides, mediums, close-ups. For wrestling, that's quite a bit to do. Your heart rate is jacked.”

Still, the acting categories in this year’s awards season will be tough to break into opposite heavy hitters from established favorites like Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, American Fiction, and The Holdovers. The Iron Claw secured an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA in September, so the cast was always going to be able to promote it. Now all of SAG will be queuing up for promotional duties and making up for lost time. But if the Von Erichs have taught us anything, it’s that adversity doesn’t have to hold a guy down.