Concussion Review: More than an Entertaining Wikipedia Page (Spoiler Free)
“Concussion” starring Will Smith is based on the life of Dr. Bennet Omalu, who discovered and named Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy(CTE), which is a brain disorder found in people that have suffered from many blows to the head, like American football players. The real life Nigerian neuropathologist is portrayed by Will Smith as a religious, quiet and extremely intelligent man who is a huge believer in the American Dream. While informative and entertaining at the same time, Concussion is a great movie that struggled to become much more than an entertaining 2 hour Wikipedia page.
The cast of concussion did a better job than any other movie I’ve seen in the past couple years. Will Smith’s performance was especially great, even good enough to get him nominated for a Golden Globe Award. The way Will Smith made every small detail important was admirable and kept me watching. Even Omalu’s Nigerian accent and mannerisms were captured fully. Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Prema Mutiso, Alec Baldwin as Dr. Julian Wales, and Albert Brooks as Dr. Cyril Wecht all played well in their roles as well.
The character development of Concussion was largely good, but not the best. Dr. Omalu’s character development was great, allowing Will Smith to show the entirety of the character. The character development of the retired football players, including Mike Webster played by David Morse, added to the weight of the conflict of Concussion. The other supporting characters, like Omalu’s wife and boss, felt like plot devices used to keep Dr. Omalu grounded or lighten the mood.
One thing that truly disappointed me about the movie was the buildup of the movie. The first half of the movie makes the viewer anticipate a huge showdown between the NFL and Dr. Omalu, which to say the least, didn’t happen.
Concussion paints the picture of the story of a lowly neuropathologist’s quest to right the sins of the shadowy villain known as the NFL. That being said, the NFL isn’t slandered in this movie, which was probably partly a choice to avoid the wrath of the corporation that “owns a day of the week”. Football as a sport isn’t portrayed as negative and is even pointed out as beautiful by multiple characters, including Omalu himself. Football fans shouldn’t hesitate to watch this movie, I would actually encourage them to watch this movie.
In the end, despite its many faults, Concussion will strike the minds and hearts of the audience. Will Smith shows the painful reality of what happens to the players of America’s favorite sport. Concussion truly was more than a 2-hour long entertaining Wikipedia page.