Benny Safdie's 'The Smashing Machine' chronicles MMA legend Mark Kerr's life and struggles

Benny Safdie's film 'The Smashing Machine,' released in Italian theaters on November 19 via I Wonder Pictures, tells the story of MMA legend Mark Kerr. Rather than a conventional sports biopic, the film explores Kerr's emotional fragility and his relationship with wife Dawn Staples-Kerr. Dwayne Johnson portrays Kerr, drawing on his own past struggles. Emily Blunt plays Dawn, chosen for her existing trust with Johnson. The film's title evokes the sound of something breaking from within. Safdie describes a 'radical empathy' in understanding Kerr and Dawn. The film's genesis involved a lost yellow sweater of Kerr's during COVID, a misunderstanding about 'ghosting,' and a phone call from the set of 'Oppenheimer.' Kerr survived two overdoses and did not win the big match in Japan, but the film focuses on learning to live with one's vulnerabilities.