Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine dives into the life of Mark Kerr, a trailblazer in mixed martial arts, anchored by a restrained, intimate performance from Dwayne Johnson. The film traces Kerr’s rise inside a sport that fused disciplines and forged a new kind of celebrity, then follows the toll it took on him and those closest to him, including Dawn, his partner who shares a quiet love amid the chaos.
This isn’t your typical sports bio. Safdie favors candour over gloss, pairing raw fight footage with a domestic realism that keeps Kerr’s humanity at the center. Dawn’s warmth and their life with their cat Sneakers provide a counterweight to the ring’s brutality, yielding a portrait that feels surprisingly delicate and lived-in rather than celebratory.
On screen craft and performance
The fight sequences are staged with a documentary edge—shots that feel like television coverage rather than stylized drama—while Safdie’s handheld camera keeps the energy kinetic and immersive. Cinematographer Maceo Bishop frames chaos as something almost tangible, letting every punch resonate without tipping into sensationalism.
Beyond victory
In place of a triumph narrative, the film probes Kerr’s inner life: his struggle with opioid dependence, a career that veered toward self-destruction, and the fragility of his closest relationships. The documentary lens draws from John Hyams’ 1997 The Smashing Machine, reimagining it as a focused, emotionally precise study rather than a conventional biopic.
Supporting performances, including Ryan Bader as Kerr’s friend and fellow fighter Mark Coleman, deepen the texture. Emily Blunt, as Kerr’s partner Dawn, registers both bite and resilience, contributing a steady gravity that keeps the story grounded even amid the arena’s ferocity.
In the end, The Smashing Machine is not about triumph or loss alone; it’s about why someone endures, and how that endurance bleeds into everyday life. It’s a living, earnest examination of masculinity in flux that avoids easy sentimentality while staying ardently human.
Source: Original article
