Talk About Movies: Part 4

THE IRON CLAW

Director: Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Nest, Southcliffe)

Anticipation Level: Extreme

Where to Watch: Theaters

Thoughts:

This might have been my most disappointing movie theater experience of the past year. I was expecting to be blown away and didn’t really see it as a possibility that The Iron Claw wouldn’t crack my top 10 of 2023. I thought the direction and cinematography were very good; I thought the film had several great performances - some of them worthy of possible Oscar nominations; and the story is absolutely worth telling and it’s unbelievably heartbreaking. But something didn’t work for me. I’ve been trying to think of what that something is for the past 16 hours and I’m still not sure what the answer is. I desperately wanted to love this movie but I feel like I’d be lying to everyone - especially myself - if I acted like I did. It’s simply not true.

I think there are a few possibilities on why I had a hard time connecting with the material.

First off, I have never been a fan of wrestling. It does absolutely nothing for me as a sport or as a spectacle. But that didn’t stop me from loving Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler or Stephen Merchant’s Fighting with My Family. I suppose the immense familial pressure for the boys to be wrestling superstars just didn’t resonate for me because PRO WRESTLING ISN’T REAL. I guess there’s a disconnect for me on how much dedication and pride and suffering can be put into something that is ultimately in the hands of whoever is scripting the narrative of professional wrestling. This isn’t a criticism of the movie or wrestling. It’s just me trying to understand why the film didn’t click for me.

I think something about the tone didn’t work for me either. I never felt particularly connected to any of the characters. I didn’t get wrapped up in the psychological trauma of the first half of the movie and I struggled to feel anything in the second half when disaster after disaster strike. And I’m someone that just shed tears watching The Holdovers a few days ago - a film that pales in comparison to the levels of tragic sadness we see in The Iron Claw. This story is very interesting and incredibly sad. So why didn’t it move me? I’ll admit to getting a little worked up during the final scene of the movie, but by then I should have been completely wrecked and that just wasn’t the case.

Maybe I’m underestimating the effect of this last part. My friend sitting next to me turned to me about 40 minutes in and said, “this movie is absolute trash.” He was also on his phone for at least 10% of the runtime looking up flights. I would have rather he just left instead of putting on such an aggressive display of disinterest. My girlfriend was far more subtle but it was obvious to me that she wasn’t into it at all about halfway through. I spent over half the runtime sandwiched between two people radiating oh my god, is it almost over? vibes. I can’t help but wonder if that somehow lessens the experience for myself. I was trying to stay locked in even though I wasn’t loving the movie myself, but it certainly was at least moderately distracting.

All that being said, I get why people adore this movie. It’s not lost on me. If you connect with the story and the characters, you are probably going to ball your eyes out and think it’s one of the best movies of the year. It does a lot of things very well. From a technical standpoint, the movie is quite gorgeous and has some creative cinematography. I think the storytelling has an interesting subtle approach. The acting is pretty great across the board. Zack Efron cracks my top 5 for Best Actor. It’s pretty remarkable that I’m typing such a sentence. Holt McCallany is also great as the family patriarch. In a normal year, he would be a contender for Best Supporting Actor but that category is loaded in 2023 and he’s not going to make the cut. Harris Dickinson, Maura Tierney, and Stanley Simons are all also really good. I wanted to see more Jeremy Allen White. I’m honestly curious what this movie would have looked like if he played the lead role.

Overall, I have a hard time putting a finger on this one. It’s a well made film that should jerk a number a tears, but it didn’t do that for me. I can see people that aren’t big fans of wrestling or big fans of Oscar fodder feeling similarly. If you don’t love wrestling or Oscar season or Jeremy Allen White, I probably wouldn’t recommend it. That being said, plenty of people think this is best of the year level so don’t take my word for it. This probably seems like a negative review, but I enjoyed the movie. It just didn’t work for me on the level I was expecting it to.

Rating: 6+ (Light Recommendation)

Replay Value: I should prob give it another shot but I don’t really want to lol

Sequel Potential: True story so none

Oscar Potential: There is enough buzz for potential noms in Best Picture, Best Script, and possibly Best Actor.

l know nothing about that story because I can't stand professional wrestling, but that didn't stop me from enjoying The Wrestler, with Mickey Rourke.

Just reading a little bit about that family, why in the world would I want to watch THAT? How utterly depressing.

I have GREAT fondness for depressing and deeply saddening films, you might even say I LIVE for them, but I have no desire to pay to see this movie in the theater.

Maybe someday on TV at home.

Iron Claw needed to be longer, probably three hours minimum. There is another brother that they had to cut out of the movie because of time. He committed suicide at 21. You never get the connection to the brothers which lessens their deaths. After the death of David, they should have spent 30 minutes on the Kerry vs Ric Flair match. It was the biggest match in wrestling history at the time. 50k people at Texas stadium. Kerry comes out to his classic Rush entrance and then it goes into David’s Yellow Rose of Texas entrance. When Kerry wins he’s rushed by his brothers and a horde of other wrestlers in the organization celebrating his win. It was a healing moment for that family and fans who were heartbroken over David’s death. How do you not focus on that? Then that adds to Kerry’s death. This should have been a best movie of the year candidate. I still liked it but it should have been much better.

Yeah I read about the family afterwards and it was shocking to find out there was yet another brother that killed themselves. It seems wildly offensive to tell this story and completely omit that but I can’t say it had any influence on my viewing experience.

If anyone wants to learn more about the story, there’s a good (read: super depressing) episode of Dark Side of the Ring about the Von Erichs: https://video.vice.com/en_us/video/the-l...

You should also be able to find it on Hulu (or just youtube/dailymotion).

Also, it’s fine to dislike wrestling. But, disliking it because it’s not “real” is silly.

Everyone knows wrestling isn’t REAL. It’s athletic theatre with live stunts.

My wife and I both really enjoyed Maestro. I definitely would have preferred seeing it in a theater, but being a Netflix release made it so much easier to watch on TV - because it is a movie that benefits from paying attention. We watched over two nights, and after the first half or so I was fairly indifferent about it - but the second half of the movie really pays off.

I hope Bradley Cooper, who like a star is born wrote, directed, and produced this in which he also plays the lead, gets the recognition he deserves as a director this time.

Interestingly both Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg are listed as producers here.

The article you linked says both Jerry Lewis' son and the Library Of Congress say there is no complete copy of the film, so it seems unlikely.

Just watched it . It was never dull for me. A scary scene begins every couple of minutes. Nice use of various visual and audio special effects. Looks like a lot of effort was put in to it. Its like a potpurri of well-made scare scenes and gore scenes and fight scenes. The final 20 minutes are especially action-packed over the top violence to a crazy level. I can't say that the acting or dialogue or storyline were top notch but they were overwhelmed by the effects. They never explained why the villain could control electricity and had super fighting and acrobatic ability. Still, it was fun to watch. Grade B

Anybody who likes like that sort of film might like another horror film, Suitable Flesh (2022) Campy, sexual, spooky, bloody, better acting and dialogue, but as not action packed. Grade B.

For me, it's Shadowlands, because in many ways it touches close to home.

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I feel like this is directed at me even though I never said that.

.

That looks like a quote of me not saying what you’re saying I said lol.

Society of the Snow is good. Based on the Uruguayan rugby team that crashed in the Andes. Obviously everybody knows the story, but it's told well, and the performances are good. I do generally have a soft spot for these types of movies tho.

I watched that two nights ago and enjoyed it as well.

Tonight's film is The Lady Vanishes.

Hitchcock's British films don't get much attention, which is a shame because many are so good, and this is one of his best. Set mostly on a train, a woman meets an older woman who somehow vanishes, but everyone on the train swears she was never there. Only Michael Redgrave believes her, so the two (and this could be a romantic comedy with the meet cute and the couple that initially don't much care for each other) set off to find her.

In reality it's all a plot. Hitchcock's film is a warning (it was released in 1938) but also demonstrates the resolve of the British, especially at the end of the film. Even the two guys who only want to get to England to see a cricket match and deny the old woman's existence become heroic.

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read the book and saw the movie and was fascinated by that and so will probably see that

I walked through the room the other day while my roommate was watching this while listening through headphones, and I heard her groan and mutter something, so I knew it was intense.

Of course I had to ask what she was watching, and she told me it was a movie on Netflix about the plane crash in the Andes. I asked if they had started eating people yet, and of course they had. Someone had apparently just told the others that if he died, they were welcome to eat him.

This led to a brief discussion of how long each of us could survive without eating, and I let her know that if we were ever in the same circumstances and I died, she shouldn't feel bad about eating me.

Good times.

For true tales of people surviving a disaster/extreme circumstances. I lap that **** up.

If cannibalism is involved, that's just a bonus!

Past Lives is a sweet and bittersweet movie. Simple plot: young girl and boy become close friends at 12 years old, reunite via Skype at 24, and meet in person at 36. The woman, though, is married.

The best films speak to us, remind us of who we are, and tell stories that mean something to us, whether those films are dramas, comedies, action films, or anything in between.

Past Lives speaks to our past and present, regrets, and those blissful moments when all was and is right with the world.

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Tonight I watched Kore-eda's Still Walking. It's a film reminiscent of Ozu's family dramas, including those Ozu "pillow shots" and an often static camera. Basically it's the story of a family reunion to commemorate the death of the eldest son who drowned rescuing a teenager 12 years before.

My mom died seven years ago yesterday, and the mother in the film reminded me of her in ways good and bad, which I won't go into, except to say that like the surviving son, I married a divorced woman (the wife of the son is a widow) with two children, both of whom have been a blessing to me, more than I can possibly express.

This is a family drama that leaves much unspoken or barely spoken, but you feel every bit of it. Sometimes I think it might be better to have families that yell and fight.

Kore-eda is one of my favorite directors, and I look forward to seeing as many of his films as possible. So far I have seen four. If you can, see his Shoplifters in addition to Still Walking.

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Also, Mabarosi, a masterpiece, and Nobody Knows may still be available on Kanopy.

Will try to find Nobody Knows. I've seen Mabarosi, and After Life, another favorite, is on Criterion.

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I thought Past Lives was good, not great. I like slower movies, as well as ones that jump timelines and leave you to fill in some blanks. But this movie did that too much to the point that I was unsure how to feel about the characters or their behavior. Ultimately I didn’t really like any of them or understand their motivations. Which I suppose can be chalked up to not understanding the phenomenon of losing your connection to home, but I thought this movie was supposed to help me with that?

The last scene didn’t really work for me and I mostly just felt bad for the husband. Obviously other people got more out of it, but I agree with a criticism that it resembles a student film and am somewhat surprised it’s considered a Best Picture candidate. Wife felt the same.