I saw this the other day and I've been thinking about it. It's an A24 wrestling biopic set in early 80s Dallas about a family of brothers who wrestle under their father's strict and domineering guidance. Dad is played by Holt McCallany (Fight Club, Mindhunter), and he's a real piece of work. At times, he seems like a good dad, but he pushes his wrestling ambitions onto his sons too much. He doesn't do the best job fathering his children, as you'll see here in various scenes of him being a cold, greedy prick. A good performance by Holt, though.

Headlines dictate the real star here is Efron. He plays the "primary" brother in this story, which I wont spoil here, but it's sad as hell. I went in blind and I'm not a wrestling fan, but it's got to be a good movie to reel you in when you don't find the subject matter interesting. Like how I don't give a fuck about the stock market, but The Wolf of Wall Street is still a great movie. Efron puts in a heartfelt performance here, and he beefed up more than ever for it.

I love the vibe of period-piece biopics like this. I guess A24 likes to keep things classy, so I regret to inform all of you that The Iron Claw is not a trash epic. It is just a good regular movie.



Random notes:

* I was quite amused by the Ric Flair scenes.

* Lily James is the love interest, notable for Pam & Tommy. I almost didn't recognize her.

* The vertical suplex Efron takes outside the ring and on the hard concrete floor really got me.