Concussion - movie review

Concussion

Plot: In Pittsburgh, accomplished pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play.
Cast: Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks
Director: Peter Landesman
Rating: 12A
Runtime: 2hrs 3 mins
Release Date: Friday 12th February 2016

American football is not my forte. Nor is neuroscience. If you were to combine the two, you don't have my interest. However, cast Will Smith and you have my curiosity. Tell me he is delivering an Oscar worthy performance and you have my attention. Concussion details the seemingly unknown story of how NFL athletes were suffering from severe brain trauma from playing the game and the doctor who discovered it all. Thanks to astonishing acting talents and an invigorating story, Concussion is a film that caught me off guard and surprised me entirely.


Will Smith seemed to have been on a hiatus for a few years. After the box office bomb that was After Earth, Smith disappeared for a few years. He made a small but insignificant blip with Focus released in 2015 but apart from that, he has flown under the radar. Until now. As Dr. Omalu, Smith dominates the entire screen with what could easily be his best performance to date. From about five minutes into the film, I could no longer see Smith in this role. His transformation into the Nigerian doctor is truly sensational. By perfecting the accent and expressing the hardship that Dr. Omalu faced, Will Smith can now be recognised as one of Hollywood's greats. Smith also perfects the motives of this character by allowing us to see the manifestation of Omalu wanting to save lives as well as aiming to be considered a true American. Whilst Will Smith gives an incredible performance, Alec Baldwin gives a supporting role worthy of mentioning. Something that I have noticed in regards to the advertising of this film, is the minimal recognition that Baldwin is receiving. At times, he joins Smith on an incredible level of acting but for the most part, is still amazing to watch. His depiction of Dr. Julian Bailes is tragically beautiful and to watch this man crumble as he realises the game that he loves is corrupt makes for a heartbreaking realisation. Other performances include Albert Brooks and Gugu Mbatha-Raw and they are certainly good, but they do not match the extreme talents of Smith and Baldwin. Brooks is given a character who I could never decide if I liked or not. His performance is fine but the writing detracts from any emotional bond formed due to his character seeming too pretentious or weak at intermittent moments. Mbatha-Raw plays Omalu's eventual wife and she has moments of greatness that break through but again, the writing of her character seemed really weak almost as if the writers were not sure of how to treat her.

True stories can either make for a shocking and revealing motion picture or a dull and unexciting one. Fortunately, Concussion is mostly the former as the flow and pacing of the film was consistently engaging. The movie moved in a way that seemed gradual and purposefully so. This allowed me to be fixated on the developing story and never felt as if I was being given too much information all at once. These gradual reveals of this condition the footballers were suffering from were detailed in a simple yet effective way that never left me confused or felt like I was being treated like an idiot. It is also clear that the film is structured in such a way, that it makes it easily accessible for all to understand. The first half of the film details Omalu's discovery whilst the second half depicts the legal battle he fought against the NFL to ensure the safety of the sport. I most definitely thought that the first half was superior to the latter half due to it feeling more raw and real. What I mean by that, is because of the story being so current, it seemed as if the directors and writers were almost tiptoeing around the subject matter with the NFL to ensure they do not garner any extreme controversial criticisms. They clearly explain that the NFL were shady and untrustworthy but I would have preferred it to go deeper into the lies and deception.

I must now address the controversy that this movie has been shrouded in. It seems a shame that such a powerful and thought provoking film has been overshadowed by calls of racism amongst the Oscar community. Do I believe that Will Smith should have been nominated for his role in Concussion? I would answer yes. He excels in this role and his performance may is phenomenal. If he were nominated, do I think he would win? I very much doubt it. It seems to be quite a clear victory for Leonardo DiCaprio at the moment but that could easily change. But, the response of Will Smith not receiving a nomination left me confused. Of course equality, both racial and sexual, is important and significant within the balance of the world and I do believe that there have been numerous times in which the Oscars have clearly omitted talent from a nomination because of their race or gender. As far as this year is concerned, I can appreciate the anger that has been raised and I do think that it is time that the Oscars listen to the criticism they are receiving and act upon it. But there may often be times in which it just so happens that the five best performances from the year come from five white individuals or the five best directors are male. The same could also happen if the situations were reversed where, depending on how talented their achievements were, five non-white actors could be nominated or five female directors as well. It sometimes is just a case of who was the best in that year as well as maintaining fairness and equality within the community.

Concussion is a solid and impressive tale of the struggle Omalu faced and provides a story that contains many life morals that we can learn from. Containing commanding performances from Smith and Baldwin, this is a film that needs to remove itself from the controversy and stand on its own as an effective piece of cinema.

My Verdict: 8/10

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