Starring: Holt McCallany, Maura Tierney, Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson, Jeremy Allen White, Stanley Simons, Lily James, Michael J Harney, Kevin Anton
Distributor: Roadshow Films
Runtime: 132 mins. Reviewed in Jan 2024
Reviewer: Fr Peter Malone msc
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The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s.
A strong, tough title. And a reference to a wrestling technique where an attacking wrestler grips their opponent’s head with a clawhold and squeeze. It is the signature move of the wrestling family, the Von Erichs, but also a metaphor for the control of a father over his sons.
This movie will appeal to wrestling fans with many wrestling sequences (someone remarking that they were not ‘fake’ but ‘pre-arranged’), vividly bringing to life the moves, the tactics, the brutality, the theatricality, and the often-wild enthusiasm of the cheering crowds. But, for non-wrestling fans, it is also a strong family drama.
It is based on an American family. The father was a one-time champion but never received the accolades he felt was deserved. He dominates his surviving four sons, as they follow his career path. (For audiences caught up in the family story, there is a lot of background information on the Internet.)
There is a black-and-white prologue, the success of Fritz Von Erich, a convincing performance by McCallany, and his encouragement of his little boys. Then a transition to 1979. There are memories of the death of a very young son, while the four remaining brothers have a strong bond. There is a huge sense of family, devotion and loyalty to their tough mother (Tierney). Wrestling championship is expected of each of them.
The eldest is Kevin, (Efron – a long way from High School Musical days). We see him train, devote himself to rigorous regimes, and success in the ring, and he is enjoying this way of life, almost a vocation. The next son, Kerry (Allen White from The Bear) is away from home, training in football. After him comes David (Dickinson), who is emerging with championship potential, is smarter than Kevin, more articulate, and favoured by his father to go on to greater things. The contrast is in Michael (Symons), who lacks the physical build of the others and is much more interested in music, playing in a band. But, he too will be caught up in the aura of wrestling.
This is not just a story of fame and fortune. The family is said to be ‘cursed’ and, the drama focuses on the effect of the wrestling on each of the sons – the pressures, health issues, suicidal episodes, injury and coma. And, always in the foreground, the relentless father and his demands on his sons. In certain ways, he is the one who is cursed but does not recognise it.
At the end, as with films based on true stories, there is further information about the family and some photos. As a counterbalance to the wrestling, the training, the hard physicality, there is a rather ingenuous love story. Kevin encounters a fan (James), who takes all the initiatives to break through his wrestling preoccupations so they might be a happy couple and family. (At the end information tells us that they have been married for almost 40 years with happy children and grandchildren living with them).
So, for some audiences, the wrestling. For other audiences, the family story and the impact of a dominating and ambitious father.
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