Concussion

In this Pittsburg, Pennsylvania story of Dr. Bennet Omalu, the tenacious Nigerian born doctor who uncovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) plaguing NFL players, Will Smith turns in one of the great performances of his career. His portrayal of Dr. Omalu leads one to forget that Will himself was not African bred and raised.

I was intrigued by the fact that Omalu was mentioned in the film as being from the Ibo tribe, the tribe that played a major role in the Nigerian/Biafran war of the 1960’s – a war torn area that was one of my first photojournalistic assignments. Will was close enough with his accent and body language to what I experienced in Africa that I had no trouble suspending my disbelief and thoroughly enjoying his performance.
Faced with the prospect that the damage the game is doing to players may be widely exposed, the NFL doubles down to discredit Dr. Omalu and his cohorts. After all, profits generated by the game may take a hit. So keep the hits contained to the players, not to the owners and profiteers pocketbooks.

Fortunately the Doctor is a principled man who stands his ground in spite of the harassment and intimidation instigated by the NFL. As a result of his stance, he loses his job, leaving Pittsburg a broken man. Only years later is he vindicated when the NFL players association decides to take up the cause, using Omalu’s research as the basis for a massive lawsuit against the NFL.
We all know how this story ends. It’s the getting there that is fascinating. The movie, both written and directed by Peter Landsman, stands as a bit of an anomaly in Hollywood filmmaking; it tells a compelling story and does so without the use of a steady stream of computer graphics. It plays on the psychological state of Dr. Omalu, pitching a principled individual against a less principled business machine.

In an interview with National Public Radio, Will Smith admitted his love for football and the discomfort this role caused him. He seemed to be echoing one of the lines in the film - “It’s a mindless, violent game. But it’s also Shakespearian.”
So it goes. Because America loves the game and pays to support it, damaged brains are not too great a price to pay for our Sunday, or Monday, or Thursday entertainment.

With a great performance by Smith and a solid script and tight directing by Landsman this $35,000,000 film is an exemplary piece of work that challenges us to consider the consequences of our love affair with the game.

4 out of 5 for me!