On January 11, the film "Steel Grip" was released in Russia — a drama by Sean Durkin ("The Nest"), based on the real biography of the family of famous American wrestlers von Erich.
This sport is not very popular in Russia, and the plot may seem trivial according to the description. But in fact, the picture will be close and understandable to many: "Steel Grip" tells about a family tragedy and the relationship between fathers and children. And here Zac Efron plays almost his best role, and Jeremy Allen White from the TV series "The Bear" and "Shameless" helps him.
Fritz von Erich (Holt McCallany, known for "Mind Hunter") was once a wrestler and came up with the trademark "iron claw" technique. In the late 1970s‑ he coached his sons in this sport.
Kevin (Zac Efron) has already achieved success and plans to become a heavyweight champion, David (Harris Dickinson from the Triangle of Sadness) is just starting his journey. And then there is Carrie (Jeremy Allen White), who planned to connect his life with big sports, but did not get to the Olympics, and Mike, who dreams of a career as a musician.
All of them will end up in the ring sooner or later and become stars. But that's what's going to ruin their lives.
Sports or musical dramas in which harsh parents or mentors force children to strive for success are often released. It is easy to assume that the "Steel Grip" will differ little from them: an aggressive father treats his sons. But it is all the more surprising that Sean Durkin presents the story differently — much softer and more tragic.
Throughout the film, the viewer is almost not shown that Erich somehow torments his sons. His arguments seem to be a ready-made template for motivational speeches: only together can you achieve more, you need to be bolder and stronger than others. But there is a nuance — the opinion of children, already quite adults, he still does not take into account.
Erich puts pressure on everyone more carefully, and therefore more effectively. He makes up their "rating" right in front of his sons — he means who he hopes for more. He gradually discourages Mike from his hobbies and immediately takes care of Carrie while he is upset after a failure in sports.
It would seem that the children have been independent for a long time — Kevin gets married and has a child at all. But sometimes even adults cannot escape from the control of the person who controls their lives ‑ and this important situation is shown in "Steel Grip".
It turns out that everyone in this story seems to want the best. But the father simply does not notice how destructive his plans and dreams are for his sons. He believes that they should be "real men": get up after serious injuries, not cry even at funerals and be sure to follow the family business. Until a tragedy happens to another one of them.
Wrestling is a cult sport in the USA. The reasons are clear: this is supposedly a fight in the ring, but staged as spectacularly and theatrically as possible. Therefore, the audience loves the show itself, and its stars become popular actors like Dwayne Johnson, John Cena or Dave Batista.
Movies or TV series about this sport are filmed regularly. One can recall at least the magnificent painting "The Wrestler" by Darren Aronofsky. Only in recent years have "Hily", "Young Rock" (produced by the Rock itself), and now "Steel Grip" been released one after another.
In Russia and the CIS, the popularity of this sport is much lower. Perhaps the peak of interest came in the late 90s, when TNT showed "Titans of Wrestling" with comments by Nikolai Fomenko. Therefore, domestic viewers are unlikely to know about the von Erich family, although at home their biography itself attracts attention.
But the retroathmosphere of the "Steel Grip" will be clear to everyone. The film neatly collects various elements of the era. For example, the soundtrack where Don't Fear The Reaper sounds (the one that was used in the scene about the "knocker BEATER »).
I am pleased with the costumes, hairstyles and successful selection of actors who would look great in a movie or in the ring of that era — Jeremy Allen White and Zac Efron put themselves in incredible athletic shape for the roles.
Although the film is mostly devoted to family drama, Durkin shows wrestling himself a lot and in detail. The most important moments are taken from the matches, but the audience can fully enjoy the complex choreography of this sport with incredible jumps and grabs. And here the director finds himself in a winning position: unlike films about boxing and any other assault, he does not need to hide that the characters do not really beat each other. And they also show all sorts of promo videos, beautiful in their absurdity, and their behind-the-scenes.
This approach performs two tasks at once. Firstly, it simply gives aesthetic pleasure and pleases with stylization. Secondly, it creates a contrast between the ceremonial part of the heroes' lives (this also applies to their joint performances in the ring, and dancing at the wedding), and their loneliness and loss the rest of the time. The most beautiful and at the same time the darkest scene where these two components intersect is when Zac Efron's character hysterically beats against the ropes and trains alone.
Jeremy Allen White proved back in Shameless that he can play not just emotionally, but "on the break." In recent years, in the "Bear" he has been giving incredible acting performances. Therefore, it is not surprising that here his hero turns out to be one of the most tragic characters.
Harris Dickinson is only gaining the attention and love of the audience so far. After "Triangle of Sadness" and now "Steel Grip", he clearly has a great future in drama. Alas, against the background of the main cast, Lily James is a little lost in the image of his wife. They tried to give the heroine a little more personality and pressure than typical on-screen "life companions", but still the film is not about her.
The main star of the film is Zac Efron. The actor, who has been stuck in the image of "just a handsome guy" for too long, has been pleasing slightly naive guys who face injustice in recent years. Two years ago, he appeared in a similar image in the movie "Over a beer!".
Now, in "Steel Grip," Efron shows a deeply traumatized, but very caring and kind person. His Kevin can't even really answer the question of his future wife, what he wants from life. But it is he who sincerely tries to take care of his loved ones, even to the point of being ready to believe in a supernatural curse.
Kevin looks incredibly handsome and cool in the ring, but completely lost outside of it — and it's even too touching and true.
"Steel Grip" is a beautiful and deep drama that can only be accused of haste. After all, it's not an easy task to uncover the tragedy of an entire family in two hours, to make a mini—series for Netflix or Apple TV. But the author intelligently concentrates on one character, showing the problems of the others through his perception. And the result is an important movie about life with a power-hungry father who shifts his aspirations to children and thereby destroys them.
