The Smashing Machine, directed by Benny Safdie, premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival, presenting a bold and unconventional take on the life of legendary MMA fighter Mark Kerr. Featuring a transformational performance from Dwayne Johnson and a layered turn from Emily Blunt, the film resists traditional sports biopic formulas, instead unfolding as a meditative, vérité-style exploration of ego, addiction, and identity.
Johnson disappears completely into Kerr, aided by Kazu Hiru’s extraordinary prosthetics. The film’s opening — staged as archival fight footage from São Paulo, 1997 — feels shockingly authentic. At the peak of his career, Kerr dominates opponents with sheer force, declaring that winning makes him “feel like a God.” Yet beneath the 255-pound fighter’s fearsome reputation lies a gentle giant battling internal demons.
Rather than focusing solely on Kerr’s well-documented struggle with opioid addiction, Safdie frames the story as a study of ego and self-destruction, what some critics have called “a Buddhist Raging Bull.” The fragmented narrative rejects the three-act structure, embracing a more abstract, collage-like style that mirrors the chaotic highs and lows of Kerr’s life.
Emily Blunt delivers a standout performance as Dawn Staples, Kerr’s girlfriend, who is far from the cliché of the supportive partner. Blunt portrays Dawn as equally complex and flawed — a woman grappling with her own addictions, insecurities, and contradictions. Their relationship becomes a mirror of the destructive intensity of the MMA world.
Adding authenticity, Safdie casts real fighters such as Ryan Bader (in a strong debut as Mark Coleman), Bas Rutten as Kerr’s trainer, and Oleksandr Usyk in a supporting role. Their presence grounds the film in the gritty reality of the sport’s wild early UFC era, when eye-gouging, headbutting, and biting were only just being outlawed.
See More ...
Stylistically, the film reflects Safdie’s signature obsession with authenticity and dissonance, underscored by Nala Sinephro’s ambient free-jazz score and eclectic needle-drops featuring Bruce Springsteen, Timi Yuro, Little Suzy, and The Alan Parsons Project. The result is both immersive and disorienting, a film that stays one step ahead of the audience.
Distributed by A24, The Smashing Machine runs 2 hours and 3 minutes and is positioned as one of the festival’s most daring entries. With its intense performances, experimental structure, and haunting emotional resonance, the film marks a career-defining moment for Dwayne Johnson and a bold solo directorial debut for Benny Safdie.
