On paper, The Smashing Machine sounds like an Oscar lock: a transformational performance by a much-loved star, in a real-life redemption story set in the dog-eat-dog world of blue-collar sport (in this case, mixed martial arts). Benny Safdie’s film has all the right elements, but it plays them all in a very zen and really rather abstract way, much like the ambient free-jazz score by Nala Sinephro, which leads the way ahead of perhaps the most eclectic needle-drops of the year, bringing together Bruce Springsteen, Timi Yuri, Little Suzy and The Alan Parsons Project. The result is a film that always seems to be a step or two ahead, which can be disorientating to say the least.
Dwayne Johnson owns the whole thing with his truly remarkable work as fighter Mark Kerr, disappearing so fully underneath Kazu Hiru’s astonishing prosthetics that the opening of the film, presented as contemporary footage from an event in Sao Paulo 1997, looks genuinely like the real thing. Kerr is on fire at this stage of his career, seeing off his opponent with something the exhilarated commentator refers to as “a magnificent knee to the face,” relishing his role as the destroyer and, in conversation with the media, perfectly capable of philosophizing about his violence in a rational manner. “I’m going to physically impose my will onto you,” he explains, adding that winning is “the best feeling there is,” one that leaves him “feeling like a God.”
Surprisingly, Kerr — all 255lb and 6ft 1 of him — is a feelings kind of guy; like a more polarised version of Johnson in his The Rock persona, he is truly a gentle giant, a trait perhaps most satisfyingly expressed when we see him sitting, uncomplainingly, in the middle of a row on a long-haul flight. By contrast, mixed martial arts — also known by the much warmer and fuzzier name of U.F.C., AKA Ultimate Fighting Championship — is in its wild, wild west years. This we realize during a press conference for a big fight in Japan, where it is revealed that biting, eye-gouging and headbutting are, sadly, no longer acceptable.
Kerr seems oblivious, and that’s probably because he is. For who knows how long, he has been chipping opiates, a habit that is becoming more and more obvious, and more and more concerning, to his partner Dawn (Emily Blunt). Dawn is no prude, being a party girl in her own right, but when Kerr ODs, she realizes that things are getting out of control. You might think that this is where the film is headed — an opioid-crisis issue movie — but his battle with the needle is barely a quarter of the story. Instead, The Smashing Machine is about an addiction to ego; in that respect it’s like a Buddhist Raging Bull, resisting the traditional three-act structure in favor of a vérité-like collage about a man’s soulful awakening.
As with Safdie’s films with his brother, authenticity is foregrounded here, notably in an fantastic debut from M.M. artist Ryan Bader, playing Kerr’s best friend Mark Coleman. There are plenty more faces from that world, including kickboxer Bas Rutten as Kerr’s trainer, but although there’s a strong whiff of testosterone, Johnson’s star turn is more than matched by Blunt, who has a fine old time with Dawn. Turning all the usual supportive wife cliches inside out, Blunt creates a complex character who’s just as needy as her partner, with her own addictions, needs and neuroses.
It’s unfortunate that The Smashing Machine (presumably) wasn’t ready in time for Cannes, because it’s a movie that needs time to bed in, and it really doesn’t fit with social media’s demand for instant binary gratification (“Is it good? Is it bad? WE NEED TO KNOW IF IT’S ONE OR THE OTHER!!!). At first sight, however, it’s that rare beast, a biopic that’s light on the bio and resistant to being a pic. It’s a film about a human being, and its effect is strangely haunting, since Dwayne Johnson seems to do everything while doing nothing. How does he do it? Well, as John Cassavetes once said, the greatest location in the world is the human face.
Title: The Smashing MachineFestival: Venice (Competition)Director/screenwriter: Benny SafdieCast: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Ryan Baader, Bas Rutten, Oleksandr UsykDistributor: A24Running time: 2 hrs 3 mins
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