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Answer to the Blog’s first theme: Film & prompt, “The best film I’ve ever watched”

Thank you to Cece, who submitted a brilliant response!

The Film chosen – The Iron Claw

My love for The Iron Claw (dir. Sean Durkin) easily stems, alike most of it’s audience, from my love of professional wrestling. When I think about my childhood home, I remember the evenings spent sat crosslegged on the floor with my sister, watching the likes of Finn Balor, CM Punk, Sasha Banks, and Bayley. As a child you get lost in the production that is wrestling, and don’t stop to consider the realities and the tradgedies of these people we grow attatched to. It was only once I was older that I learned of the misfortune of the Von Erich family, and couldn’t help but feel a childlike spark when I heard of the release of this film. We follow the story of four brothers (out of the factual six) raised in the world of wrestling, and each of their own need to success and thrive as they navigate their ways through the professional, and personal, life. More importantly, we see their struggles. We see what it takes to make, or to break a person. We also come to learn about the Von Erich’s as individuals and who they are beyond the ring; morals, passions, and values. The Iron Claw captures this profound sense of family, all in competition with each other. It’s truly difficult to pin point only one scene that broke my heart, as this film is a consistent twist of the knife. However, I must talk about the final scene. The only remaining Von Erich brother, Kevin, sits alone to watch his two young children. We don’t need to seek out the reminiscence in his eyes, because we already know that it sits heavy on his heart. I can say that each time I watch this film, I cry along with Zac Efron’s portrayal of Kevin Von Erich as he mourns the family he once had. But smile at the childlike innocence of the two boys that welcome their father into their brotherhood without a hesitation. This is a film that sticks with you.