A Safdie brother goes his own way

[Safdie, from E1]

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BENNY SAFDIE makes his solo feature debut with “The Smashing Machine.”

(IAN SPANIER For The Times)

Johnson's “Jungle Cruise” costar Emily Blunt.

That the real-life Kerr would have such an visceral response to watching it was validating for the 39-year-old Safdie, who wrote, directed and edited the movie and is also a producer on the project, as is Johnson.

“I wanted him to feel some kind of ownership of the movie and his life,” says Safdie of Kerr. “And it was very meaningful to me. Now I hear him talk about it and it’s very interesting because he can say, ‘Oh, I see where I made mistakes in that relationship.’ And he can take ownership of them. And part of it is I wanted to make a movie about somebody's perspective on life changing.”

Safdie picked up the directing prize in Venice, a remarkable accomplishment for his first solo-directed feature. With his older brother, Josh, Safdie has made a string of critically acclaimed and increasingly commercial films including “Daddy Longlegs,” based on their childhood; the anxiety-inducing street-level stories of “Heaven Knows What,” based on the memoir of a teenage heroin addict; “Good Time,” starring Robert Pattinson as a half-smart criminal; and “Uncut Gems,” starring Adam Sandler as an unrepentant gambler.

Benny Safdie has become startlingly busy in the last few years. He has appeared as an actor in significant supporting roles for the likes of Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” Paul Thomas Anderson's “Licorice Pizza,” Claire Denis’ “Stars at Noon,” Kelly Fremon Craig’s “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret” and Kyle Newacheck’s “Happy Gilmore 2.”