The Big Picture

Best Picture Power Rankings and The Rock’s Oscar Bid in ‘The Smashing Machine,’ with Benny Safdie!

October 3, 2025

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  • Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson delivers a surprisingly vulnerable and transformative performance in *The Smashing Machine*, successfully melting his larger-than-life persona to embody the character of Mark Kerr. 
  • The film *The Smashing Machine* is characterized by Benny Safdie's directorial style, which favors an intimate, surveillance-like observation of Mark Kerr's frailty and struggles, subverting expectations of a typical athlete biopic. 
  • The initial Best Picture power rankings for *The Big Picture* place *One Battle After Another* at number one and *Hamnet* at number two, reflecting the early impact of the fall film festival season. 
  • Director Benny Safdie felt compelled to make *The Smashing Machine* due to a deep, personal connection to the vulnerability he perceived in Mark Kerr, despite the project initially fading after 2019. 
  • Safdie developed a unique cinematic language for the combat sports film by observing early MMA fights with the sound off, leading to a shooting style that prioritized the audience feeling like they had 'third tier passes' rather than being inside the ring. 
  • Safdie views his acting roles (like in *Oppenheimer* and *Claire Denis' film*) and his directing work as mutually beneficial, as acting teaches him how to listen to other collaborators, which in turn improves his directing process. 

Segments

Initial ‘Smashing Machine’ Reactions
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(00:00:09)
  • Key Takeaway: Van Lathan initially expected pronounced high drama or tragedy involving Emily Blunt’s character, but was ultimately delighted by the film’s focus on Mark Kerr’s regular temperament amidst a violent world.
  • Summary: The film The Smashing Machine is not a standard triumphant athlete biopic; instead, it focuses on the frailty of Mark Kerr while navigating addiction and a dysfunctional relationship. The gun scene provided a moment of high tension that subverted audience expectations by not leading to expected tragedy. The title itself is seen as tongue-in-cheek because Kerr is portrayed as a vulnerable, open wound rather than an unstoppable force.
Filmmaking Style and ‘The Curse’
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(00:06:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Benny Safdie consciously recreated much of the source documentary, lending the scripted film an unorthodox, fly-on-the-wall feeling similar to his Showtime series The Curse.
  • Summary: The film’s structure mirrors the documentary, resulting in an unconventional pacing that some viewers might find unsatisfying. The cinematography keeps the camera outside the ring during fights, emphasizing the theme of alienation. This style is spiritually linked to The Curse, sharing its observational ambiance and feeling that the audience is intruding on private disputes.
Mark Kerr’s Vulnerability and Gentleness
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(00:08:04)
  • Key Takeaway: The amusement park scene powerfully contrasts Mark Kerr’s desire for safety and gentleness with his partner’s exhilaration in danger, encapsulating the core conflict of his character.
  • Summary: The scene where Kerr refuses to ride the Gravitron because of his ’tummy’ highlights his need to feel safe outside the professional danger of fighting. His partner’s enjoyment of the ride while separated from him symbolizes her attraction to risk, contrasting with his desire for stability. Kerr’s uncommonly concerned reaction after hurting someone in a fight further demonstrates his underlying humanity.
The Rock’s Performance and Persona
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(00:15:11)
  • Key Takeaway: Dwayne Johnson successfully ‘melts The Rock’ by committing fully to the dramatic energy of Mark Kerr, avoiding his usual reliance on charisma, quips, or flexing.
  • Summary: For years, The Rock’s film choices have been criticized for prioritizing his larger-than-life persona over character depth, often making him an ’entity’ rather than a person. This role is seen as the perfect opportunity for him to demonstrate capability by shrinking his massive presence and committing to sincerity. His performance is noted for successfully capturing the character’s essence, including moments of unexpected emotion like crying.
Critique of Emily Blunt’s Role
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(00:29:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Emily Blunt’s character is criticized for being one-note, serving only as an emotional cog to propel Mark Kerr’s narrative forward, which undermines the film’s immersive style.
  • Summary: Blunt’s presence, despite wearing prosthetics, prevents the audience from fully slipping into the surveillance style of the film because she remains recognizably Emily Blunt. Her character is repeatedly cast as the shrewish or nagging wife, which is deemed depressing for such a talented actress. The conflict she generates often lacks clear motivation, feeling manufactured solely to advance Kerr’s character arc.
Early Best Picture Power Rankings
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(00:36:48)
  • Key Takeaway: Following the fall festivals, One Battle After Another is ranked number one, and Hamnet is ranked number two after winning the Toronto People’s Choice award.
  • Summary: The hosts established their initial Best Picture power rankings, noting that the board feels clearer earlier this year than usual. One Battle After Another is positioned highly because it fits either the Oppenheimer or Saving Private Ryan path for awards season contenders. Hamnet moved up after its Toronto win, while Sentimental Value did not gain as much momentum as expected.
Safdie’s Directing Philosophy
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(01:15:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Safdie learned from collaborators like Nala that directors must allow musicians and artists the space to perform from themselves to achieve the best results.
  • Summary: Safdie learned from working with composer Nala that allowing collaborators space to be themselves yields superior creative output, similar to how jazz musicians operate. He filmed the musicians improvising to the movie footage, capturing raw stems that he later edited into the final score. Nala ultimately replaced an intense guitar track with a droning sound after editing, which Safdie found superior.
Scale of Production
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(01:17:01)
  • Key Takeaway: Despite The Smashing Machine being a large-scale film with big stars and international travel, Safdie felt creatively unconstrained by the budget.
  • Summary: Safdie felt permitted to execute his desired creative choices even on a large-budget film, contrasting the experience with smaller projects. He created an environment on set where performers felt no pressure, viewing mistakes as learning opportunities rather than failures. This atmosphere allowed for intense, emotionally real moments, such as the scene where he and Dwayne Johnson both cried.
Fact vs. Ecstatic Truth
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(01:19:39)
  • Key Takeaway: Safdie prioritized ’ecstatic truth’ over strict factual accuracy, using invented moments to represent the emotional reality experienced by the subjects.
  • Summary: For the fight choreography, Safdie maintained religious accuracy to how the fights played out to earn respect from the MMA community. However, he intentionally inserted events that did not happen, such as placing Emily Blunt’s character in a room she wasn’t in, to fully represent her feelings of being brushed off by Mark Kerr. This approach was based on Herzog’s concept that changing what happened can reveal a deeper truth about the feeling.
Directing Dwayne Johnson’s Performance
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(01:26:16)
  • Key Takeaway: Safdie believed Dwayne Johnson was ready to release pent-up emotional pressure, which allowed him to deliver a deeply internalized and emotionally real performance.
  • Summary: Safdie felt Johnson was ready to express feelings he had long held back, which was key to unlocking the performance beyond his usual charismatic persona. Safdie guided Johnson by asking what he was looking at when cutting a cactus, leading Johnson to understand he was assessing the scar on something he loved, instantly clarifying the emotional subtext. Safdie structured the final fight scene with Emily Blunt chronologically, instructing Johnson on when and how to escalate his emotional restraint and eventual outburst.
Safdie’s Dual Career Path
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(01:33:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Safdie intends to continue both directing and acting because each discipline informs and improves his abilities in the other.
  • Summary: Safdie is motivated by whatever excites him and offers a chance to learn, whether acting or directing. Acting in other directors’ films, like with Claire Denis, forces him to listen and adapt his performance, which he then folds back into his directing style. This reciprocal learning process ensures he does not lose sight of new techniques or perspectives.
Knicks Coaching Change Reaction
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(01:36:28)
  • Key Takeaway: Safdie expressed emotional difficulty accepting the firing of former Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, despite acknowledging the move was necessary after a successful season.
  • Summary: Safdie found it hard to connect with the new coach because he had become emotionally attached to Thibodeau’s intense, old-school coaching style. He felt Thibodeau’s relentless nature, which drove opponents insane, was a powerful asset that the team rode to their best season in 25 years. The change represents a difficult psychological shift for the fan.
Last Great Things Seen
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(01:38:26)
  • Key Takeaway: Benny Safdie recently watched and highly praised the Gene Hackman/Denzel Washington thriller Crimson Tide and the Kevin Costner film No Way Out.
  • Summary: Safdie had never seen Crimson Tide before and was struck by the dynamic between Hackman and Washington, calling it awesome. He immediately sought out other Gene Hackman performances after watching it. He also mentioned watching No Way Out shortly after, noting both films as great examples of big studio movies from that era.