Review of Concussion (2015) by Connor C — 30 Dec 2015

Concussion is a well-made and very well executed film, though it is not without its flaws. Weaving the complex story of the NFL's negligence towards the serious problem of concussion, the film gives us a man to root for through the whole calamity: the good doctor come to save the day.

The script is fine for the most part, while at times seeming a little bit preachy and at others not entirely coherent with the situations presented. The main attraction is the performances, all of which are masterful and shows off its cast's talents.

Will Smith is the good doctor leading the film as Dr. Bennett Omalu, the multi-degree holding Nigerian-born forensic pathologist who discovered CTE, the brain disease caused by recurring head trauma and leads to madness, in 2002 after performing the autopsy of former Steelers Center Mike Webster, played tragically by David Morse however briefly.

Throughout the film, we are given examples of respected professional football players being driven to kill themselves because of the newfound disease, but the most tragic at first glance has to be the first, Mike Webster.

The man was pulling out his teeth and Super-gluing them back in, doing an obscene amount of drugs, living in his car and was using a Taser to render himself unconscious to sleep. Guiding us through these discoveries is Will Smith in a refined and committed performance as a foreigner who always dreamed of America as the greatest place besides heaven and now must find a way of making the country except him and what he has brought to its favorite sport.