10s Movie Review - Concussion

Director: Peter Landesman
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 118 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Morse, Eddie Marsan, Hill Harper, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Stephen Moyer, Richard T. Jones, Paul Reiser, Luke Wilson

Description: In Pittsburgh, accomplished pathologist Dr. bennet Omalu (Will Smith) uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 30: A MOVIE RECOMMENDED BY A FRIEND
 
Review: Mike Webster was one of the best center players in the National Football League (NFL) in America. He played professional American Football for sixteen years, mostly for the Pittsburgh Steelers. After his career, he soon declined. He lives in a pickup truck and suffers from dizziness, forgetfulness and insomnia. Not surprisingly, he dies. A heart attack is soon the official reading. Nigerian forensic neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu is assigned to investigate Webster. He discovers that something is wrong with the brain, but can’t quite pinpoint what it is. When another former football player dies, Omalu notices the same brain abnormalities. Could there be something more going on with football players after all? Omalu tries to bring this to the attention of the NFL board, but his research is dismissed as nonsense. In fact, since then Omalu has only been thwarted in his investigation and even received death threats.
Jeanne Marie Laskas wrote the article Game Brain for the men’s magazine GC in 2009. In it, she describes the story of how Nigerian Dr. Bennet Omalu discover what effect the hard hits and collisions of American Football players have on their brains. And how Omalu is opposed by the entire NFL after this discovery. Peter Landesman is a director and writer, but also a journalist. He has written a number of articles on human and gun trafficking for New York Time Magazine, The New Yorker and other leading magazines. His first feature film, “Parkland”, dealt with the aftermath of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. He made the follow-up “Concussion” in response to Jeanne Marie Laskas’ article. His background as a journalist came in handy for the structured telling of the story surrounding Dr. Bennet Omalu and his investigations. A story that is structured according to fairly standard principles, but contains poignant moments. Its distressing that a large organization like the NFL considers entertainment interests more important than the health of its players. Somehow it’s understandable, because the stakes are high. The NFL desperately needs the players to keep the entertainment going. The chances that young people will stop playing American football when they hear that it can cause brain damage are high, so the sport will eventually cease to exist. Yet it is strange that people do not want to look for a solution, but continue to deny the danger Omalu points out.
As a sub-line in the story, there’s Omalu’s personal struggle to adapt to the American system as an immigrant. He wants to succeed at all costs in the promised land. But as a Nigerian, he has his own ideas and principles and they do not always correspond to what is expected in America. This leads to misunderstanding on both sides. Omalu is portrayed by Will Smith, who is very convincing, inspiring and strong in his role. Another actor I need to point out is David Morse. He only has a minor role at the start of the film, but he really leaves an impression.
“Concussion” doesn’t really color outside the lines. The film is made according to standard movie laws. But a film like “Spotlight” had already shown that you can still make an interesting film this way, because the content is so well done. “Concussion” can’t match that film, but is intriguing enough to keep you interested the entire runtime.

Rating: 4/ 5