by Mia Brown
There is something undeniably magnetic about The Smashing Machine, the new film starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as UFC star Make Kerr.
It takes the biopic, a film we’ve all seen ten thousand times before, and offers us something intriguing and new. Tired old biopic tropes of addiction, marriage woes, and career missteps are turned into something genuinely affecting that leaves the viewer incredibly moved.
Much of this is thanks to writer/director Benny Safdie, one half of the directing duo responsible for 2019’s electrifying Uncut Gems, who approaches his material with conviction and sincerity. Safdie’s film is not uncritical of its subject, portraying Kerr as a man with many flaws instead of a perfect being, as some biopics attempt to.
Because of this, The Smashing Machine feels incredibly human, a celebration of human perseverance in the face of obstacles both internal and external.
This humanistic approach is helped tremendously by Johnson’s truly mesmerizing performance as Kerr. Johnson completely reinvents himself as an actor, trading in the tough guy persona of his action movies to portray a broken yet human man, a choice that results in one of the most moving and surprising performances I’ve seen in years. This is the kind of film he should’ve been making his entire career.
Emily Blunt is also stunning as Kerr’s wife Dawn, perfectly capturing the desperation and fear that all spouses of UFC fighters would feel, allowing the audience to both sympathize with her and become more invested in Kerr’s success, if only so that she can be happy.
Safdie, who won the Best Director award at the Venice Film Festival for the film, is an incredibly subtle director, never outshining his two stars, a choice that serves the film excellently. His editing is electric and his 16mm cinematography is beautiful to look at. Overall, The Smashing Machine is one of the best films of the year, and is sure to start conversations about success and perseverance amongst its viewers.
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