“THE IRON CLAW” My rating: B+ (In theaters)
132 minutes | MPAA rating: R
Less a wrestling movie than a Greek tragedy in Spandex, “The Iron Claw” is based on the real story of the Von Erich brothers, a family of professional grapplers who came to prominence in the 1980s.
Writer/director Sean Durkin is way less interested in the ring action (although there’s plenty of it nicely staged) than in presenting a portrait of family dysfunction so complete that the first thing we hear in the voiceover narration is that the clan is cursed.
Literally.
Our main protagonist is Kevin Von Erlich (Zac Efron, pumped almost beyond recognition), who like his three brothers has been raised by their father, Fritz (Holt McCallany), to excel at the family tradition.
Back in the day Fritz was on his way to a wrestling title, but claims it was denied him by the “bastards” who run the business. Now he’s determined that one — or better still, all — of his boys wear the big belt. (Among with ambition the boys have inherited from Dad the “iron claw,” a skull-squeezing wrestling move.)
Initially the Von Erichs’ life on a ranch outside Dallas seems semi-idyllic. There’s farm work, endless hours pumping iron in the home gym, big family dinners and church on Sunday.
The boys — Kevin, Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), David (Harris Dickinson) and Mike (Stanley Simons) — revere their father and want nothing more than to please him.
Over the course of a decade their dedication will prove itself more than dangerous. It’s deadly.
The film has been superbly acted (other cast members include Maura Tierney as the uber-religious mother and Lily James as the veterinary student who falls hard for Kevin) and despite the raucous acrobatics of the fight scenes the overwhelming mood is one of ever-tightening desperation and sadness.
Not a happy story, but beautifully done.
Teo Yoo, Greta Lee
“PAST LIVES” My rating: B (For rent on Prime, Apple+, etc.)
105 minutes | PG-13
Astonishingly delicate and quivering with emotional possibilities, Celine Song’s “Past Lives” wonders what would happen in childhood sweethearts met up many years later.
In the film’s opening scenes, set in South Korea, we are introduced to Nora and Hae Sung, 12-year-olds whose platonic friendship might over time become something more.
But Nora’s parents emigrate to Canada. Twenty years later the grown Nora (Greta Lee) lives in NYC with her husband Arthur (John Magaro). Their lives are settled and largely uneventful.
And then word arrives that Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) will be visiting the Big Apple and would like to reconnect.
It’s a setup rife with erotic possibilities, most of which writer/director Song keeps on the back burner. “Past Lives” is much more about its characters’ emotional interiors than physical betrayal.
Off the bat it’s obvious that while Nora has achieved a level of mature sophistication, Hae Sung is stymied in a sort of sad adolescence. He still lives with his parents and is indifferent when it comes to a career.
Apparently he’s lived two decades in “what could have been” mode.
The film is mostly conversations between the two old friends as they walk around the city.
Arthur, meanwhile, is trying to stifle his anxiety that he might lose his wife…his alienation is heightened by his inability to participate in their intimate conversations in Korean.
“Past Lives” is one of those films in which nothing seems to happen, while emotionally all sorts of stuff is going on. The performances are really terrific, with Teo Yoo creating a portrait of sweet longing so heartbreaking you want to give him a hug.
| Robert W. Butler
Butler's Cinema Scene 