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\n\tOn paper, The Smashing Machine<\/a> 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<\/a>\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \n\tDwayne Johnson<\/a> owns the whole thing with his truly remarkable work as fighter Mark Kerr, disappearing so fully underneath Kazu Hiru\u2019s 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 \u201ca magnificent knee to the face,\u201d relishing his role as the destroyer and, in conversation with the media, perfectly capable of philosophizing about his violence in a rational manner. \u201cI\u2019m going to physically impose my will onto you,\u201d he explains, adding that winning is \u201cthe best feeling there is,\u201d one that leaves him \u201cfeeling like a God.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSurprisingly, Kerr \u2014 all 255 pounds and 6 feet, 1 inch of him \u2014 is a feelings kind of guy; like a more polarized 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 \u2014 also known by the much warmer and fuzzier name of UFC, aka Ultimate Fighting Championship \u2014 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.<\/p>\n \n\tKerr seems oblivious, and that\u2019s 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<\/a>). 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 \u2014 an opioid-crisis issue movie \u2014 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\u2019s like a Buddhist Raging Bull, resisting the traditional three-act structure in favor of a v\u00e9rit\u00e9-like collage about a man\u2019s soulful awakening.<\/p>\n \n\tAs with Safdie\u2019s films with his brother, authenticity is foregrounded here, notably in an fantastic debut from mixed martial artist Ryan Bader, playing Kerr\u2019s best friend Mark Coleman. There are plenty more faces from that world, including kickboxer Bas Rutten as Kerr\u2019s trainer, but although there\u2019s a strong whiff of testosterone, Johnson\u2019s star turn is more than matched by Blunt, who has a fine old time with Dawn. Turning all the usual supportive wife clich\u00e9s inside out, Blunt creates a complex character who\u2019s just as needy as her partner, with her own addictions, needs and neuroses.<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s unfortunate that The Smashing Machine (presumably) wasn\u2019t ready in time for Cannes, because it\u2019s a movie that needs time to bed in, and it really doesn\u2019t fit with social media\u2019s demand for instant binary gratification (\u201cIs it good? Is it bad? WE NEED TO KNOW IF IT\u2019S ONE OR THE OTHER!!!). At first sight, however, it\u2019s that rare beast, a biopic that\u2019s light on the bio and resistant to being a pic. It\u2019s a film about a human being, and its effect is strangely haunting, since 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.<\/p>\n