In the universe of World Wrestling Entertainment wrestlers-turned-actors, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”) is not considered very high up in the rankings of range or acting ability. And while I’ve enjoyed his slapstick action roles as much as the next person, it’s also true that he’s never played any particularly emotionally burdened characters to date. But with this latest performance, John Cena (“The Suicide Squad”) and Dave Bautista (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) better watch out — despite previous uncertainty regarding Johnson’s acting ability, The Rock has proved he can hang with the likes of these other actors, conveying the powerful, unadulterated rollercoaster of emotions that Mark Kerr (Johnson) experienced as an addict and professional athlete.
“The Smashing Machine,” directed by Benny Safdie (“Uncut Gems”), pulls from the 2002 documentary of the same name, which chronicles Kerr’s early career as a professional fighter and his volatile relationship with his now ex-wife Dawn Staples (Emily Blunt, “A Quiet Place”), all while facing an opiate addiction. While most of his previous works have been collaborations with his brother Josh, this is Safdie’s solo directorial debut, and he does a wonderful job of creating realism in the film through his attention to detail, down to the set and costumes.
Watching clips from the documentary, I was blown away by the film’s meticulousness in getting these parts of the production just right. For example, when Johnson walks on-screen for the first fight in Brazil, the black and white shorts appear as exact replicas of those Kerr really wore in real life. The warm, bright lighting creates a retro atmosphere, since the movie’s events take place more than 20 years ago. And in watching the footage from Kerr’s fights, it is clear that Safdie put effort into recreating the setting from big details like the ring itself to smaller ones like the lighting at fighting competitions. Safdie’s commitment to realism enhances the palpability of the conflicts faced by the characters, emphasizing that the events portrayed in the film are their true lived experiences.
This dedication to realism also explains why the emotions of the film felt so raw and gritty, as they are a faithful replication of the real feelings shared by Staples and Kerr. That being said however, the film’s plot has an unclear structure, with time jumps that lack fully fleshed-out transitions from one point in Kerr’s life to the next making the events on screen hard to follow. In the case of depicting Kerr’s descent into addiction, this lack of clearly-defined time segments weakens the impact of his downfall, since the audience is left wondering how fast the addiction worsens and how drastically his behavior changes in this timeframe. It instead relies on explicitly telling the audience what year it is to give a sense of the passage of time and the chronological order of events.
Despite this, the film did not fall into the typical sports film plot structure of a winning streak, fall from greatness and struggle to get back to the top, with a climactic finish of a winning match. Instead, Kerr learns to lose and gets trapped in a cycle of difficulties and losses, without a clear resolution. The film even ends with Kerr losing the Pride Fighting Championship semifinals and coping with this loss. Despite the lack of a traditional plot, Safdie creates a successful character study of Kerr and dives into his psyche, exploring his high standards and the coping strategies that come with the pressure to perform as a top athlete.
By focusing so intensely on the motivations of Kerr, Johnson’s performance becomes even more integral to the story. When I think of The Rock, I think of fast-paced action and gruff tough-guy roles, so it was clear that he needed to adjust his typically boisterous acting style to the intense topics of the film in order to do justice to Kerr’s lived experience. Now, there is some overlap with his portrayal of Kerr and his previous roles, since it draws on his physicality and WWE background, but upon watching the movie, it’s clear that he was chosen for more than just his stature. Having to play a real-life person was a great way to bring out a different side of him as an actor.
One of the most recognizable aspects of Johnson is his voice. What struck me about The Rock’s performance in “The Smashing Machine” was how much he immersed himself in the role, even adapting his voice to fit Kerr’s higher-pitched and more mellow tone. Additionally, Johnson’s depiction of addiction through his facial expressions, voice and body language is so well done that you can see the difference when Kerr tries to mask his inhibited state from his wife. I was thoroughly impressed by his subtlety and commitment to portraying Kerr in these moments.
Johnson’s performance as the movie went on definitely proved my initial positive reaction correct. When Kerr and his Staples would fight, the performances by Johnson and Blunt made you viscerally feel the pain and fear that comes from a toxic relationship — particularly one clouded by addiction and bad communication. From their very first scene together, where Staples makes Kerr’s protein smoothie incorrectly, he tells her that it was “very nice” of her to make the smoothie even though she “did it wrong.” The tension and pending fight can be felt through the screen. Blunt uses subtle facial expressions in moments like these to display the conflict her character feels over not knowing how to help Kerr through his addiction.
Johnson and Blunt’s chemistry on screen helps create the palpable sense that, while these people cared for one another, they couldn’t figure out how to be what the other needed. Later in the film, the couple’s arguments increase, and so do the tangible stakes of trying to save a relationship that once held love and respect but has slowly fallen into toxicity and manipulation. Their refusal to acknowledge their incompatibility is uncomfortably realistic, demonstrating the relatability of their very human faults. The pair of them do a wonderful job of creating palpable tension on-screen that builds and builds until it finally erupts.
I hope Johnson continues to take roles that push the boundaries of his typical macho action typecast. His depiction of Kerr is an asset to the film that puts some of the most challenging years of the wrestler’s life under a microscope, dissecting habits, relationships and emotions to leave viewers embroiled in the story’s tumultuous ride. I commend Safdie on his gritty rendering of Kerr’s life and would caution people not to judge based on the abysmal box office numbers, because it is a movie that truly makes you feel for its characters.
Daily Arts Contributor Maeve McGinn can be reached at maevemcg@umich.edu.
