Why The Iron Claw was the Best Movie of 2023

we loved our father and we loved [Applause] [Music] wrestling I was 6 years old when High School Musical was released back in January of 2006 I still remember seeing advertisements for it between episodes of The Sweet Life of Zach and Cody now I was a six-year-old I wasn't overly concerned about the nuances of quality acting I wasn't overly concerned about anything really except maybe cinnamon poptarts and Oreos the music stuck in my head for a while especially the beat at the beginning of get y

our head in the game which is still awesome to be honest but before I stepped into the theater to watch the iron claw I had not seen in a movie since Charlie St Cloud which was released in 2010 and it's not exactly a classic never in a million years did I think that Troy B could lead my favorite movie of any year and deliver my favorite performance of the year in the same movie but I guess there's a certain probability of anything happening now 2023 will be remembered mostly for Oppenheimer and

Barbie Barbie made the most money Oppenheimer won the most Awards and there were some other memorable movies alongside those two minus one was amazing across the spiderverse Met its extremely high expectations the zone of Interest was powerful but no movie had more of an effect on me then Shan Durkin the iron claw I was mostly unfamiliar with the story the von Eric going into the movie and a little research I did beforehand made me think that the story ahead of me was going to be incredibly Blea

k similar to another wrestling tragedy film Fox catcher the only other sha Durkin movie i' had seen was marthy May Martha mace Marcy Martha Marcy May marleene decent movie terrible title so my ation was a mix of fox catcher and Martha Marcy May marleene but that is not the iron claw sha durkin's latest film is on the one hand a study of why a single family suffered so much tragedy in fact so much tragedy that Shawn Durkin actually had to tone it down Chris von Eric the youngest son of Fritz also

killed himself following the death of Mike but is left absent from the film if the story was only about why David Mike and Carrie died it could be pretty pretty good the same way Fox catcher is pretty good but the reason why it's my favorite movie of 2023 is because it explores something else the survival of Kevin von Eric to understand why Kevin survives we need to understand the emotional dynamics of the von Eric family which are fascinating the family is built on the unshakable pillar that i

s Fritz Von Eric and the opening of the ironclaw establishes the way he views the world and how he'll teach his children to view the world in the ring he's a showman he wants to entertain the crowd like nobody else his performances are a massive emotional release but when the bell rings this is what we get quiet solemn there's a lot on his mind namely that he's struggling to support his family but he won't confess his insecurities to anyone he must keep to the von Eric rules be the toughest stro

ngest most successful and rely on nobody but yourself and your family these are the Ten Commandments that he imposes on all of his children what's so impressive about the iron claw is that this patriarch could have gone too far Fritz has a destructive impact on his family no question but does he love his sons absolutely and that's not an easy balance to strike if you go too far one way the tragedy isn't believable too far in the other and you can't understand their allegiance to him but the writ

ing of Durkin and performance of H Cy makes it work so the boys do as their father commands and they're as close in it as it gets because of it I love the scenes where the brothers are just eating burgers in a truck or floating down the river with a beer or just messing with each other it's so good these small moments show how much they enjoy being around one another too many movies expect the audience to be emotionally involved whenever the stakes are death in infamously in the rise of Skywalke

r every Star Destroyer in the third Act is able to annihilate a planet so we should be rooting hard against them because thousands of planets could explode but we don't know the people on those planets so fire away to feel the weight of loss you need to care for who's on screen you need to relate to them and that happens very quickly in the ironclaw because of brief but very familiar moments however even though the brothers would do anything for each other they're bound within the familial struc

ture built by their father tough love which is useful at times probably underused nowadays is the only solution for the Von Erics this becomes a massive problem but unlike his brothers Kevin finds a Lifeline oh don't you want to ask me who to make it out to oh yeah sure it's pam pam mhm Pam's introduction to Kevin is one of my favorite scenes of the movie movie it's the model Opposites Attract relationship and the actors have phenomenal chemistry but their first date is also superb for a more si

gnificant reason Kevin tells Pam about the death of his older brother Jack Jr and he tries to brush it off he tells her that he doesn't really think about it anymore it was so far in the past but Pam sees through this and she gives him a hug which is sort of played for comedy but then you realize this is probably the first hug he's ever received out of empathy it's a massive moment and the camera lingers on it for a long time to make this point the Von Erics only hug when times are good like whe

n Carrie comes home or one of the boys is given a shot at the title but when tragedy strikes it's a different story The Father's rules come into effect no hiding no tears even Doris can't cry for the death of her son the iron claw shows us that the rules that help the boys achieve success are the same ones that make it unsustainable so we get the classic rise and fall Arc the more success David and Carrie accumulate the more impulsive they become car especially Kevin probably would have been the

same way without his wife but his dedication to her maintains stability now once David dies because of his refusal to get medical treatment a domino effect begins his brothers loved him more than anything and they're asked to move on like their pet goldfish just turned over someone's got to take his place and win the belt that's what matters Kevin has Pam who at least offers him an outlet for emotional release but the other two have no one the von Eric story has a Shakespearean feel to it at ti

mes and there's a line from MC Beth that I think explains their situation very well McDuff learns that his whole family has been killed by the king and Malcolm tells him dispute it like a man go to war get revenge McDuff responds by saying I shall do so but I must also feel it as a man mourning and acknowledging loss is important essential really but because the father does not share mcduff's wisdom the family unravels completely David just remains in the background to their minds and debilitate

s them emotionally and because they run away from David's gravestone there is no glory when the belt finally comes home this scene between Kevin and Carrie is so good this is it this is what every day of their lives has been for but they're covered in darkness Shadow Bears down on both of them that is how they truly feel no piece of leather and metal can change that as The Dominoes continue to fall the family's response Remains the Same this single shot during Mike's funeral says it all another

brother is gone and Kevin's eyes are dry to the disbelief of his wife Kevin's next Strat is to not only Retreat emotionally but physically he locks himself in the gym to avoid spreading the vonic pathogen to Pam and his child in this sequence where Kevin goes end to end bouncing off the ropes is incredible it captures his mood perfectly he's alone he feels trapped the joy of wrestling left with his brothers it's just a job now and he doesn't know where to go but thankfully Kevin finds redemption

in Failure his dad gets him the title shots and he loses control he goes off script gets dqd instead of a belt he gets judgment from his father and brother but it's through this missed opportunity that Kevin realizes that he doesn't really care what really matters to him he already has and on top of that realization he finally sees his father for who he is notice how Fritz is the only one in the mirror in this Frame he's the type of father who will not be in your corner when you're down his ene

rgy goes to Winners in this case Carrie now if there is a divisive part of the ironclaw apart from the Ric Flair actor who apparently does a pretty bad impression I have no idea it would be the river scene with all the brothers it can't come off as too emotionally heavy-handed but I did appreciate it more during my second viewing Shawn Durkin leans into the Mythic here Carrie leaves a coin that his father once flipped as payment for crossing the river sticks and it makes you think what if it's t

aals and not heads success can destroy and failure can redeem I love how this scene makes you consider that the film concludes with Kevin and Pam living on the ranch they dreamed about during their first date and among the peace and prosperity Kevin finally starts to feel like a man the worst aspects of the von Eric rules have faded and he'll raise his kids to live a different way so a movie that could have very easily choked down the the enormity of its own tragedy does something unique it offe

rs hope because Pam is right at the beginning of the movie there are no curses we're all subject to the slings and arrows of Outrageous Fortune but there are no black spots if we accept the suffering of loss and disappointment and have the courage to move forward as Kevin does there are still pages to be written You could argue the most important scene of the movie is when Kevin returns to his wife and child because it's an amazing Act to vulnerability but it's the only one that can lead him out

of the Abyss there are countless lessons to take from each major character in The ironclaw discussing them all would probably match the runtime of the movie itself but the story is ultimately defined by Kevin's survival and redemption in the wake of tragedy and it's Kevin's story that made the ironclaw my favorite movie of 2023 all right guys those are my thoughts on the film feel free to leave yours in the comments section and if you enjoyed this video video make sure to leave a like And subsc

ribe on your way out have a fantastic rest of your day I will talk to you [Music] soon