Film Review — The Smashing Machine

In their quest for an Oscar, actors have done all sorts of things to demonstrate their commitment to demanding roles. Whether shaving their heads, gaining weight, losing weight, or ugly-ing up with an imperial ton of prosthetics, there’s nothing an actor won’t do in the quest for that golden statuette. But surely, no one can match the commitment of Dwayne Johnson in The Smashing Machine. He’s actually put on a wig. Should we give him the Oscar now and be done with it?

All silliness aside, Johnson is actually pretty damn good as Mixed Martial Arts fighter Mark Kerr. Obviously, Johnson has the muscle, but we’ve never seen him give a performance of this depth or emotional heft. There’s more than a hint of Robert De Niro in Raging Bull (1980) here. Stylistically, this also recalls The Wrestler (2008). The Smashing Machine isn’t as good as either, but writer-director Benny Safdie’s adaptation of John Hyams’s 2002 documentary is a strong, solid piece of work all the same.

Set between 1997 and 2000, the plot involves Mark and his girlfriend Dawn (Emily Blunt), with whom he has a somewhat tumultuous relationship, despite her largely supportive attitude. Having never lost a…