Overview

• The A24 biopic expands nationwide following buzzy Venice and Toronto festival screenings and marks Safdie’s first solo feature.
• Critics praise Johnson’s restrained, transformative performance in a character study that foregrounds addiction and an intense relationship over fight spectacle.
• Kerr calls watching his life on screen therapeutic and confirms key depictions, including a harrowing handgun incident, while noting some details were altered.
• Safdie says the screenplay condenses timelines and invents moments to capture an overall truthful portrait of Kerr’s late‑1990s rise and struggles.
• Authenticity is boosted by real MMA figures, with Ryan Bader portraying Mark Coleman and Bas Rutten appearing as himself, as reception skews positive despite some critiques of narrative focus.