Eternity (2025) Film Review

In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with, and her first love, who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive.

Eternity is directed by David Freyne director of The Cured (2017) and Dating Amber (2020). 

Eternity is one of those rare modern romantic comedies that strikes that sweet spot when it comes to making both its romance and comedy work so incredibly well with one another. While it is a bit on the predictable side and may have some extra padding here and there. The film works wonderfully due to its fun cast, creativity and the dreamlike atmosphere and filming. 

Each of the performances are quite excellent and bring something to the table. Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller and Callum Turner all bring their own special charm to the film. Olsen going back and forth of who she wants to spend eternity with feels very real and at times even gets the viewer to participate by making decisions with her. It helps that Olsen in general is a fantastic actress and here is no exception, Teller and Turner are both very fun here and the constant back and forth they have with each other is always entertaining. Their chemistry with Olsen is beautiful and with Olsen delivering a lot of the emotional moments, Teller and Turner do a great job of supporting said moments. 

Da’Vine Joy Randolph and John Early are also quite great, they are definitely the film’s comedic weapons but serve that role perfectly. Randolph is a stand out among the cast, she steals each and every single scene she’s in as well as bringing the fun and creative energy to the atmosphere whenever possible. Randolph has an undeniable amount of charm here that really blends well with the rest of the cast, her moments with Miles Teller are some of the film’s absolute best. 

I have always been interested in films that have different ideas of what happens after life and Eternity is no exception. In fact this is by far one of the most interesting ideas in quite a while, the writing brings this creative, heartfelt and humorous feel to the film that truly captures its playful mindset. There’s this realness to the dialogue and even some strong character moments, the whole memory archive idea leads to some genuinely beautiful scenes that help build Larry, Joan and Luke as characters. There is the perfect balance of comedy and romance, they don’t outweigh one another to a degree where it becomes distracting. 

The cinematography from Ruairí O’Brien is done in this dreamlike state that perfectly captures what you would imagine what the afterlife would look and feel like if it was a film itself. The atmosphere shines perfectly with its soft yet beautiful presence, there is times where the atmosphere almost feels like it’s trying to give you a big warm hug and you can’t help but accept it. There’s so much attention to detail with the different eternities or “worlds” that we see, the use of color and light is always quite beautiful to explore with your eyes. 

Overall Eternity is a beautifully done film that really shines through, it might be simple at times and as I said it can feel like it’s padding a bit. However the positives absolutely shine and are truly a blast. 

Eternity is currently in theaters.

8/10 B+

The Perfect Neighbor (2025) Film Review

A seemingly minor neighbourhood dispute in Florida escalates into deadly violence. Police bodycam footage and investigative interviews expose the consequences of Florida’s “stand your ground” laws.

The Perfect Neighbor is directed by Geeta Gandnhir who previously directed I Am Evidence (2017), Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power (2022) and a few others. This documentary is about the killing of Ajike Owens which happened on June 2, 2023 by Susan Louise Lorincz in Ocala, Florida. 

The Perfect Neighbor is a very different documentary, some might quickly write this off as another true crime documentary. However what makes this one stand out is simply the way Gandnhir approaches it, a majority of the documentary is police body-cam footage it’s almost like it was done in this found footage like style. Except what you are seeing is incredibly real, gut wrenching and even at times disturbing. 

The way the footage is put together is quite an accomplishment on its own, the editing from Viridiana Lieberman is brilliant and captures the absolute sadness of this crime. Owens was loved by her neighborhood and her children, just seeing all of their reactions to her being murdered is devastating on its own. The footage displays all of this in great detail and as the documentary leads up to Owens’s murder we see Lorincz’s behavior get more and more unhinged. 

Lorincz called the cops on the neighborhood children (including Owens’s kids) for playing outside, claiming “they can’t be over there” when in reality they could. Lorincz used racial slurs at them, threw objects at them, she even said “This isn’t the Underground Railroad slave” the racism got progressively worse and worse as time went on. Each and every time that Lorincz called the cops, the cops would side with the kids and parents. Lorincz kept insisting that she was a victim but then at the same time continued to escalate her behavior. 

One particular moment during this documentary that stood out was when one of Owens’s young sons was asked if he was hurt and after he is informed of his mother’s death, his response was “No, but my heart is broken.” To hear and see this in body-cam footage is heart shattering, no child should ever have to say these words. It’s something that just sticks with you, the reality is now that Owens’s children will grow up without a mother and be forever scarred by their mother’s murder. It’s an incredibly devastating moment that really does sum up the whole documentary. 

Overall The Perfect Neighbor is a fantastic documentary that is put together incredibly well. There is not much more to say here as the documentary’s footage really does speak for itself. It’s a powerful one that I highly recommend. 

The Perfect Neighbor is available on Netflix. 

9/10 A

Rental Family (2025) Film Review

Struggling to find purpose, an American actor lands an unusual gig with a Japanese agency to play stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality. Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he soon rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the quiet beauty of human connection.

Rental Family is directed by Hikari director of Tsuyako (2011), A Better Tomorrow (2013), Where We Begin (2015) and 37 Seconds (2019). 

Rental Family is the very definition of a crowd pleaser, at times that does hold the film back from going deeper with its themes. However there is no denying on how charming the whole package really is, the performances are excellent, the emotional beats are strong and the humor is genuinely funny at times. 

Brendan Fraser fits like a glove with his performance as Phillip, he provides this mixture of bumbling and kindhearted vulnerability that is constantly shown throughout the film. His conversations with the rest of the cast always has something beautiful and meaningful within them, whether it be smaller moments or bigger ones. Fraser’s body language and manner of speaking is truly beautiful that pains such an honest picture that is genuinely beautiful. 

The supporting cast particularly Mari Yamamoto and Akira Emoto are very strong here. Yamamoto has some great scenes with Fraser, I do wish there was a bit more exploration with her character Aiko. We do get a bit around the halfway point of the film and for what it is there is some solid character work. Emoto’s performance gives us plenty of hilarious, beautiful and genuinely heartbreaking moments. Emoto’s character Kikuo Hasegawa has a character arc that is on the predictable side of things, but it ultimately still works given the context of Phillip and Kikuo’s conversations they had with one another. These moments in particular are some of the film’s strongest due to just how natural and caring the conversations really feel. 

The writing is solid, the scenes with Phillip and Mia (played by Shannon Mahina Gorman) having this father and daughter bond are genuinely beautiful and gut wrenching at the same time. While they are super sweet underneath it all is an unfortunate lie, not done in a malicious way. Her mother Hitomi (played by Shino Shinozaki) felt Mia needed a father figure, which is ultimately devastating since Mia believes her father has truly come back. The Rental Family business brings happiness yet can also bring sadness this being a prime example. There are moments where it admittedly does feel like we are missing some exploration with Hitomi and the bond between Phillip and Mia. However the film explores just enough to make these scenes worth it in the end. 

The film almost has this side quest like feel with a lot of the many people Phillip means, this is not particularly a bad thing as the film does a good job of telling these stories. Even if the focus needed a bit more power to it, there truly is some genuine moments in all of them that make the stories simple yet beautiful at the same time. 

Overall Rental Family is a satisfying little film that you can’t help but leave with a smile on your face, it might be a bit too much of a crowd pleaser for some. However the film’s earnestness and kind nature manages to make this one work. 

Rental Family is currently in theaters. 

8/10 B+

Caught Stealing (2025) Film Review

When his punk-rock neighbour asks him to take care of his cat for a few days, New York City bartender Hank Thompson suddenly finds himself caught in the middle of a motley crew of threatening gangsters who all want a piece of him.

Caught Stealing is directed by Darren Aronofsky director of Pi (1998), Requiem For A Dream (2000), The Fountain (2006), The Wrestler (2008), Black Swan (2010), Noah (2014), Mother! (2017) and The Whale (2022). 

Darren Aronofsky has always been one of my favorite filmmakers, his ability to bring out transformative or flat out incredible performances from a lot of actors is just fascinating. While I’m always going to prefer Aronofsky’s more dramatic work, It’s always nice to see Aronofsky have a lot of fun and go for something completely different here. 

Austin Butler is oozing with charisma and almost immediately captures the atmosphere that the world of the film demands. Every single moment you feel this gravitational pull towards his character Henry “Hank” Thompson and the world around him. Butler’s performance only gets more and more electrifying as the film goes on especially with the film’s tone that quickly becomes more brutal and darker. Butler gives one of the best performances of the year, this is the type of performance of what makes an actor so interesting especially sensing the confidence within the performance. 

The supporting performances are just as fantastic, Zoë Kravitz’s chemistry with Butler is captivating and even if her part is not as massive, the time she does have she uses well and brings this passionate bond the film shows through Butler and Kravitz’s chemistry. Matt Smith and Regina King are both fantastic here as well, both capture the energy and atmosphere of their respective roles. Smith being more chaotic and King bringing her strength and pedigree. Tonic the cat is also a fun addition to the film who does a fantastic job with the film’s more comedic moments. 

The writing is atmospheric, thrilling and genuinely funny at times. It’s a nice balance between the three, none of which completely overwhelm one another. The writing has moments of brutality which is where the depth for these characters comes from, we explore a bit about them. Even if at times there is a bit of surface level information, what we do learn is admittedly fascinating which keeps the viewer in for the ride. The comedic elements are on the black comedy side of things, but are effectively used sparingly and do not take away from the more dramatic ones. 

Aronofsky does a fascinating job of capturing this 1990s New York landscape, he invests a ton of energy in creating this beautiful feel that you can’t help but look around. This is definitely one of Aronofsky’s bigger in scale films, perhaps his biggest since Noah (2014). But unlike Noah (2014) where it felt very overwhelming and a giant mess in general, Caught Stealing is a lot more focused and has a lot more interesting elements happening on screen. You have the chaotic nature of the cast and their characters, the brutality of the film, the film’s black comedy and the strong cinematography from Matthew Libatique. 

Overall Caught Stealing is such a chaotic and fun ride from beginning to end, that Aronofsky does such a fascinating job of capturing the crazed experience. 

Caught Stealing is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

Lurker (2025) Film Review

A retail employee infiltrates the inner circle of an artist on the verge of stardom. As he gets closer to the budding music star, access and proximity become a matter of life and death.

Lurker is directed by Alex Russell which is his directorial debut. 

Lurker is a very impressive directorial debut that goes for this realistic and quite uncomfortable look at fan culture and the effects of obsession and celebrity worship. The performances, atmosphere and Russell’s direction truly make the whole package work. 

Théodore Pellrin and Archie Madekwe give some of the best performances of the year, Pellrin plays Matthew someone who is obsessed with wanting to belong and eventually does push that way too far, it’s done in this very subtle and realistic way. Some people might write this off as a “stalker film like performance” but what Lurker goes for here is quite different, Matthew gets into Oliver’s (played by Archie Madekwe) life easily by acting useful and harmless. It’s a natural way that just about anyone would fall for, how Pellrin portrays these actions and mindsets is truly fascinating to the point where it’s almost scary. 

Archie Madekwe does a fantastic job as Oliver, not only does he do a fantastic job of illustrating the casual control that a celebrity wields. But he also does an excellent job when it comes to having this balance of charisma and detachment, we see this more and more as the film goes on with Oliver realizing that Matthew really needs to be cut off from him, which he does about as well as he really can considering the situation he is in. 

The dynamic between the two is what keeps the film moving along, we see they start off as great friends with Matthew becoming more and more obsessive with Oliver. We can see the quick change in their friendship with it slowly but surely going downhill and getting more and more uncomfortable, all of this is captured quite rawly through the performances of Pellrin and Madekwe. It’s uncomfortable yet a fascinating look at how being parasocial can really start to affect your real life bonds a behavior outside the internet. 

The supporting cast are great here as well, particularly Havana Rose Liu who may not get the most amount of screen time. But she does have memorable scenes that are quite great and captures the atmosphere of the film decently well. Her and Zack Fox both effectively reflect the audience’s reactions to Matthew’s obsessive behavior. 

The writing is fantastic, as mentioned before the film is done in this quite realistic style and the writing really reflects that. Whether it be some of the more explosive moments that the film builds up to, or some of the more quiet and subtle moments that remain thrilling throughout the film. There is always something here to bring in the viewer slowly but surely, the manipulative language that Matthew displays is scary and captures a lot of what makes this sort of behavior so scary in the first place. 

The direction from Alex Russell is incredibly confident and paints this picture of a deeply uncomfortable dive into modern day obsession, while some plot points do go where you expect them to. It’s not enough to take away from Lurker as a film, this sense of belonging is captured so well yet ultimately transformers into something much much darker and unhinged. How Russell is able to accomplish this in a much quieter way is truly fascinating. 

Overall Lurker is an excellent film that explores parasocial relationships and celebrity worship in this honest and uncomfortable way. It’s incredibly well acted, written and directed, one of the most underrated films of the year. 

Lurker is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

East Of Wall (2025) Film Review

A rebellious South Dakotan rancher makes hard decisions related to her fractured family, financial uncertainty and unresolved grief, all while providing refuge for a group of wayward neighbourhood teens.

East Of Wall is directed by Kate Beecroft which is her directorial debut. 

Authentic would be the best word to describe East Of Wall, not only does it take on a very documentary like approach. But the film based on the lead actress Tabatha Zimiga’s real life, it’s a docufiction film done at its absolutely best. 

The performances feel incredibly raw, Tabatha Zimiga gives her debut performance and does such a beautiful job. Almost immediately you connect with her story simply due to how well the film establishes her and her story very early on, Porshia Zimga similarly plays herself and does just as an incredible job. With a cast that is filled with mostly nonprofessionals we really get to see and feel the impact of Zimiga’s story and the performances here feel that much more authentic. While yes Scoot McNairy and Jennifer Ehle are here (who also do a great job) that does not take away from the authenticity of the film. They mix well with the rest of the cast and fit into the story being told. 

Almost immediately you get Chloe Zhao’s The Rider (2018) vibes from the film and in a good way. Much like that film, we get to see the daily lives of Tabatha and her daughter Porshia in this authentic way that shows them living their lives on screen. It’s like we are just watching them for a distance and seeing what unfolds, we get some beautiful cinematography from Austin Shelton who captures the beauty of South Dakota particularly the Badlands a forgotten beauty (that we do not see much in film.) 

The writing is phenomenal, Kate Beecroft also wrote the script and apparently lived 3 years with Tabatha and her family. That definitely shows throughout the film, you can feel this personal power that is poured into the script as the film goes on, the emotional moments hit one hundred times harder than they normally would. The quiet moments feel more connective, scenes of Tabatha and her family just talking and bonding are beautiful. There is much beautiful character work here as well as acting talent. 

Overall East Of Wall is straightforward yet is the very definition of authentic, it’s a beautifully told story that might take a bit to get going. But it is absolutely worth experiencing. 

East Of Wall is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

The Black Phone 2 (2025) Film Review

Bad dreams haunt 15-year-old Gwen as she receives calls from the black phone and sees disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp. Accompanied by her brother, Finn, they head to the camp to solve the mystery, only to confront the Grabber — a killer who’s grown even more powerful in death.

The Black Phone 2 is directed by Scott Derrickson director of Hellraiser: Inferno (2000), The Exorcism Of Emily Rose (2005), The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008), Sinister (2012), Deliver Us From Evil (2014), Doctor Strange (2016), The Black Phone (2022) and The Gorge (2025). The film serves as a sequel to The Black Phone (2022). 

When The Black Phone 2 was announced a lot of the reactions were something along the lines of “where does it go from here?” The first film was a surprisingly quite strong film that felt raw, it also came out in 2022 the year that was filled to the brim with excellent horror films. Luckily The Black Phone 2 does the smart move of being the complete opposite of it’s predecessor, rather going for more of the same thing the film opts to go for this Nightmare On Elm Street inspired feel. Which in the end works in the film’s favor due to just how well the film is executed. 

The performances all around are fantastic, Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw are both once again fantastic, we get to see their trauma and what has changed since the last film. McGraw especially gets one particular moment during the film’s final moments that I was not expecting to cry at, without spoiling it I will say that it was a very well built up to moment that really does a fantastic job of showing Gwen as a character and just strong McGraw is here. It’s a touching moment that leaves the viewer in tears during the film’s final moments. 

Although Ethan Hawk is not in the film as much as one would expect, what makes The Grabber so effective this time around is feeling his presence in the atmosphere itself. Ethan Hawke does deliver a solid performance here and while it is a bit of a shame we do not get to see him as much as we did in the first film, I do think the payoff and what we do end up getting with the atmosphere and dream sequences (I’ll get into that soon) is wonderful and makes up for it. 

The supporting cast such as Demián Bichir and Arianna Rivas are both strong here as well, we get to see some genuinely solid moments of the two helping Finney and Gwen, plus a few moments of Bichir’s character Armando showing some vulnerability. It might not be a particularly huge moment but it does show that the film wants everyone to at least be involved in the film’s world. 

The Nightmare On Elm Street inspirations become very clear when it comes to the dream sequences, these sequences are filmed using an 8mm camera and they are quite haunting. You can fell the dark atmosphere and The Grabber’s presence throughout these scenes, these moments perfectly capture what it’s like to have very unclear and confused dreams that get you thinking about what exactly happened. The 8mm camera only adds to the blur and confused nature as well as this terrifying painting of trauma, there is this theme of trauma here that is very effectively done. As the dream sequences keep occurring we see more and more build up until the whole film leads to the return of The Grabber making his presence known. 

The writing does have its cornball moments, however the film mostly stays on the ball with delivering a ton of genuine moments that are touching. Finney’s bond with his sister Gwen is incredibly charming and the roster of characters all feel involved as I mentioned before, some are definitely more important than others but the film does a great job of giving these characters life. 

Overall The Black Phone 2 is a very strong sequel that’s just as great as its predecessor, it was a very smart move to go for a much different direction rather than doing the same thing again. It does interest me where they will go if a Black Phone 3 does happen. 

The Black Phone 2 is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

Hedda (2025) Film Review

HEDDA (Tessa Thompson) finds herself torn between the lingering ache of a past love and the quiet suffocation of her present life. Over the course of one charged night, long-repressed desires and hidden tensions erupt–pulling her and everyone around her into a spiral of manipulation, passion, and betrayal.

Hedda is directed by Nia DaCosta director of Little Woods (2018), Candyman (2021) and The Marvels (2023). 

Nia DaCosta knocks it out of the park with Hedda, a very confidently directed film that displays tons of fantastic performances, visually stunning, and some clever build up that captures the atmosphere that is needed to make the film work in the end. 

The performances are a delightful to watch, Tessa Thompson gives a career best worthy performance that fills the screen with passion for her character Hedda. Thompson is able to show her acting power here which leads to a complex and layered performance, she brings Hedda to life as this character who is a agent of chaos who will sit back and enjoy the show. Thompson’s subtle acting with her eyes, breathing or even just standing completely still make the film all the more effective. One of the best performances of the year as well as one of the most passionate ones. 

Nina Hoss and Imogen Poots are both incredibly strong here as well, Hoss definitely gets the bigger part as she gives a volcanic performance that shows great deal of strength and range. Her chemistry with Thompson oozes with passion and immediately hits you with this electric type of feel. Much like Thompson, she’s able to portray a complex character brilliantly and in this way that will keep the viewer invested throughout the film. 

The cinematography from Sean Bobbitt is absolutely wonderful here, what makes this a very interesting and clever case is the camerawork and how well the stories and emotions of the characters are told through the camera movements. Even when there are some scenes that do not have the writing to back them up, you have the clever use of the camera to back the film up and the results are genuinely beautiful. Due to this we get to see the performances shine front and center, with tons of attention to detail with the costumes and the many conversations that take place throughout the film. 

The writing is sharp, very well blended together and has a lot of passion going on here. While it does take a bit to get going, the setup of the film is worth it and ultimately builds to a final act that is very worthy and fits the film like a glove. The atmosphere that is attached to the writing as well as the film’s world is rich and perfectly captures the “whodunnit” genre, it has this classic Hollywood feel that Tessa Thompson and Nina Hoss radiate throughout the film with each and every scene. 

Overall Nia DaCosta lands her best film to date, it’s a confidently directed film with clever camerawork and excellent performances. It might have a slow start but once it gets going there is so much to absolutely fall in love with. 

Hedda is available on Amazon Prime Video.

9/10 A

After The Hunt (2025) Film Review

A college professor finds herself at a personal and professional crossroad when a star student levels an accusation against one of her colleagues, threatening to expose a dark secret from her own past.

After The Hunt is directed by Luca Guadagnino director of A Bigger Splash (2015), Call Me By Your Name (2017), Suspiria (2018), Bones and All (2022), Challengers (2024), Queer (2024) and a few others. 

After The Hunt is a rare miss for Luca Guadagnino, last year he did incredibly well with delivering two of the best films from last year Challengers and Queer. After The Hunt however is a bit of mess that tells it’s story in the most bland and most frustrating way possible, there is clearly some sort of effort put into the movie thanks to the cast and even some solid moments. But for the most part the movie either does not explore the characters nowhere near enough or is holding back for no explainable reason. 

Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri all try their best with a script that is not doing the movie any favors. Roberts gets the biggest end of the stick mainly due to having a number of more quiet moments where you can really tell how she is feeling and what she is thinking during certain scenes. While Andrew Garfield does give a solid performance and even has one particular moment that is quite memorable, he has given far better performances before. At certain points during the movie it almost feels like the script is holding him back from making his performance even better. Ayo Edebiri unfortunately gets the short end of the stick, while her performance is certainly not bad. The movie fails to give her character any sort of strong writing or dialogue to help her stand out. These are all very talented actors that are unfortunately held back by such an empty script that gives nothing for the viewer to chew on. 

The writing is what breaks the movie, what makes Guadagnino’s films so interesting (at least for me) is always the characters and the world in which they live in. There is always this element of surprise and intrigue that quickly brings the viewer into his films almost immediately. You do not get that here with After The Hunt, instead you get a very messy story that has no real idea of what it’s trying to go for here, the serious subject matter is just not taken with the care it deserves. The movie does not add anything new to the conversation and instead feels like it’s repeating itself over and over again.

Which leads to the movie’s 139 minute runtime which is baffling to say the least, it goes on for way too long and adds so much extra padding. It gets to a point where the movie almost has this run on sentence type of feel, with every couple of great moments that show signs of a decent movie there is at least ten moments that say the exact same thing. 

Overall After The Hunt is not as bad as some will say, however it is a huge mess of a movie that has very little to say about such a serious subject. It’s by far the most disappointing move of the year and I’m not sure if it’s even close. 

After The Hunt is available on all VOD platforms.

5/10 C

The Smashing Machine (2025) Film Review

The true story of mixed martial arts and UFC fighter Mark Kerr, whose obsession with greatness made him a legend — and nearly cost him everything.

The Smashing Machine is directed by Benny Safdie director of which his is first film directing without his brother Josh Safdie. 

The Smashing Machine tells the story of Mark Kerr a former amateur wrestler and MMA fighter. I must say that this one surprised me, while yes this does have a lot of the usual biopic tropes that we as the audience have come to expect. There is something about The Smashing Machine that clicked for me and I’m still not quite sure what it was, perhaps it’s due to the film feeling like one of the more down to earth and humanly told biopics or in other words ones that don’t feel manufactured. 

Dwyane Johnson gives a fantastic performance here, he shows that he can really go all out as an actor. There is plenty of scenes here that he shows little subtleties on his face and body language which goes a long way, he gives this authentic and surprisingly shows vulnerability. Johnson plays Mark Kerr in this way that shows he doesn’t know how really register the rest of the world when he isn’t fighting. His body language is shaky, he hesitates for periods of time before speaking and he’s actually intimidated, it’s this fragile portrayal and feel that shows the complete opposite of the type of performances Johnson has been doing the last several years. 

Emily Blunt is also fantastic here, the messy relationship between Mark Kerr and Dawn Staples is shown here and in surprisingly raw detail. The scenes of the two arguing are brutal and raw, brutal in the sense that these are the sort of arguments feel all too real. These are the type of fights that feel like they come from years of loving someone and standing by them but the pressure just keeps building up until nobody can take it anymore. Each of these scenes are heartbreaking and tragic to watch, it ultimately builds into one particular scene that is genuinely soul crushing. Emily Blunt does such a fantastic job of displaying a lot of this and being the anchor of the film and reminding us how violence is not just in the ring. Blunt gives a heartbreaking performance that feels all too real and can absolutely be relatable to the viewer. 

Speaking of which the fight scenes themselves are done in a quite fascinating way, the fights have this documentary and dream like feel. There’s this sense of Mark Kerr feeling like he’s lost and cannot find where to go or what is going on when his opponent is right in front of him, the brutality during these scenes almost feels like the camera is scared of it. This brings the question if Mark is scared of the brutality as well? It’s something the film does a fantastic job of exploring during these sequences and we really do not get a conclusive answer. 

The 90s like filming style is quite phenomenal, there’s this old VHS type of look that compliments the film incredibly well and gives the film this sort of classic pay per view wrestling type of nostalgic feel. I’m not into wrestling and know very little about it, but I do remember a lot of people talking about pay per view wrestling growing up and this film’s filming style really captures that feel incredibly well. Cinematographer Maceo Bishop does a wonderful job of showing this in a very natural and nostalgic way that you can’t help but think about. 

The writing does have some typical biopic tropes, if you have seen the documentary about Mark Kerr you already know what’s going to happen. The film also does fall in the department of not showing enough of how Kerr’s chaos hurt others (outside of Dawn Staples), the film only touches on this but does not go far enough. However that does not take away from the film’s brutal honesty during a lot of moments, the addiction scenes are anxiety inducing, the romance as said before has so many broken moments and there’s this sense of loneliness that hits you in this quiet but powerful way, the presence of loneliness remains throughout the film. 

Overall The Smashing Machine feels humane and tender, between the raw performances and the many different themes as well as the filming. There is truly something powerful here that might not show up immediately but will eventually leave you thinking about it. 

The Smashing Machine is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+