Whether you’re a WWE fan or a self-proclaimed part of Film Twitter, you probably haven’t been able to escape the conversation around The Smashing Machine. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s dramatic turn in the A24 biopic has been making headlines since before production even began… and now, it’s latest trailer has found one unique way to catch my attention.
On Tuesday morning, A24 released the latest trailer for The Smashing Machine, following its recent premiere, and subsequent success, at the Venice Film Festival. The trailer shows off a smattering of elements from the film: Johnson’s nearly-unrecognizable performance as real-life MMA fighter Mark Kerr, the gorgeous cinematography from Maceo Bishop, and one very particular needle drop.
A moody cover of Phil Collins’ 1984 hit “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now” can be heard throughout the trailer, and it honestly sets the tone in a pretty effective way. Sure, the song not only evokes the multitude of feelings The Smashing Machine hopes to convey: an underdog story, mixed with the emotional “empty space” left by Kerr’s struggles with painkillers. But it also fits the weirdly timely-but-timeless aesthetic of the film itself, and the real-world narrative that has surrounded Johnson potentially being an awards contender this season for his performance in the film. The trailer recontextualized the song itself in a new context, not unlike The Smashing Machine hopes to do with Johnson and his blockbuster-filled career thus far.
Take a Look at Him Now
“This transformation was something I was really hungry to do,” Johnson recently said of his performance in the film. “I had been very fortunate to have the career that I’ve had over the years and to make the films that I’ve made, but there was just a voice inside of me, a little voice that said, ‘Well, what if I could do more — I want to do more and what does that look like?’”
According to the official synopsis by A24, The Smashing Machine simply tells “the story of legendary mixed martial arts & UFC fighter Mark Kerr.” The film is written and directed by Benny Safdie, who recently won the Silver Lion in Venice for his work on the film. Alongside Johnson, the cast includes Emily Blunt as Kerr’s ex-wife, Dawn Staples, as well as Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, and Oleksandr Usyk.
“I wanted it to feel like you were at the fight, ringside,” Safdie explained in a recent interview with Vanity Fair. “I put all these rules on myself—I said, ‘Our camera crew has third-tier press passes. We can’t get the primo spots; we have to be behind everybody and fight our way through. When you are distanced and you have that voyeur point of view, it can be hard to access the person. But I learned on The Curse that you can do both. You can have it be far away, but also be directly in their heads at the same time.”
The Smashing Machine will debut exclusively in theaters on Friday, October 3rd.
(featured image: A24)
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