The life of former amateur wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson) is vividly captured in Benny Safdie’s solo directorial debut. Set between 1997 and 2000, the film depicts how the charismatic Kerr helped popularise the sport, and how taking, and delivering, brutal beatings night after night eventually took its toll, fracturing his relationship with partner Dawn (Emily Blunt), and precipitating a dangerous painkiller addiction. A biopic of rare authenticity and psychological depth, Safdie’s visceral portrait of Kerr benefits immensely from the nuanced and empathetic performances from its leads; Johnson is especially impressive, inhabiting a character whose imposing physical bulk belies a vulnerability and unexpected emotional self-awareness. Upending the conventions of sports movie, The Smashing Machine is about a fighter who must learn how to lose.

Notes by David O’Mahony