Dwayne Johnson’s ‘The Smashing Machine’ Earns 15-Minute Ovation at Venice, Draws Early Oscar Buzz
Bennie Safdie’s restrained biopic of fighter Mark Kerr, anchored by a solemn turn from Johnson, premiered at the 82nd Venice Film Festival to sustained applause and emotional reaction from its cast and subject.
Dwayne Johnson was moved to tears as his new film, The Smashing Machine, received a prolonged standing ovation following its premiere at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, where critics and attendees praised the restrained direction of Bennie Safdie and the film’s portrayal of fame, addiction and recovery.
The film, which Safdie wrote and directed, tells the story of real-life mixed-martial artist and former UFC champion Mark Kerr. Rather than unfolding as a conventional rise-and-fall melodrama, Safdie’s approach, critics said, is deliberately narrow and unsentimental: it traces Kerr’s ascent to prominence in the late 1990s, his struggle with opioid addiction and his eventual restoration without resorting to familiar recovery clichés.
Johnson, 53, stars as Kerr and drew particular attention for a performance that reviewers called quietly complex, capturing the athlete’s physicality and interior restlessness. Time’s review said Safdie “simply trusts his star” to guide audiences through Kerr’s escalating fame, addiction and recovery, and noted that the film eschews ‘‘Rocky’-style narrative formulas” in favor of a more ambiguous emotional center: a champion who has fallen, gotten back up and is left asking “Now what?”
According to Variety and the New York Post, the screening on Monday drew one of the festival’s longest ovations this year, reportedly lasting 15 minutes. Safdie embraced Johnson and co-star Emily Blunt as applause continued, and both filmmakers and actors were visibly moved; Kerr, who attended the Lido premiere, was also seen tearing up as the credits rolled.
Blunt appears in the film as Dawn Staples, Kerr’s now-ex-wife. Safdie, 39, is best known for directing Uncut Gems, and his collaboration with Johnson represents a tonal shift for the actor widely associated with blockbuster action fare. Reviewers highlighted Safdie’s restraint and Johnson’s willingness to inhabit a more subdued, interior role.
The film opens around 1997 with Kerr at the top of his competitive run, and much of the narrative concentrates on the practical and psychological aftermath of his earlier struggles rather than on a melodramatic collapse. Time’s critique emphasized that Kerr’s early recovery in the story removes the expected “spiraling decline” common to many addiction narratives, allowing the film to explore the persistent drive and identity questions that follow public triumph and private recovery.
The Venice premiere has already generated awards-season chatter. Media outlets reported early Oscar buzz, citing the festival reaction and the film’s dramatic reappraisal of a sports-biopic template. Organizers at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, which opened Aug. 27, scheduled the film among the high-profile screenings in its main slate.
Kerr’s real-life presence at the Lido added a layer of authenticity to the premiere. He has been a public figure in MMA and has spoken previously about addiction and recovery; the film’s depiction, anchored by Johnson’s turn, returns repeatedly to the question of what comes after public vindication and personal survival.
Following Venice, the film is expected to continue its festival run and to receive further critical scrutiny as it reaches a wider audience. Safdie’s compact, performance-forward approach and the response on the Lido suggest the film will remain a topic of discussion through the fall festival and awards season.