The Movie Concussion attempts to tackle the issue of ‘helmet to helmet’ contact in the National Football League (NFL) and the brain damage that it causes. Based on the true story about a Nigerian pathologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu (Will Smith) and his controversial findings regarding the effects of repeated concussions, which he later dubbed as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in individuals with a history of repetitive brain trauma, which leads to difficulties with cognitive thinking, emotions and behaviors that do not become noticeable until many years later.
While working in the Allegheny County coroner’s office, Dr. Omalu, who took great interest in finding the cause of death in all of his deceased patients, couldn’t understand why Mike Webster, a former NFL great, had killed himself. After going above and beyond to find out, Dr. Omalu finds a dangerous pattern among football players who have committed suicide.
The movie was very informative, which I appreciated, but a bit lackluster in the way the story was told. Will Smith never lets me down, so I enjoyed his performance as Dr. Omalu, however, the movie did not have that entertainment (WOW) factor. I rate the film 3.5 out of 5 stars.
The movie was directed by Peter Landesman. I was written by Peter Landesman and Jeanne Marie Laskas. The movie is rated PG-13, and the run time is 123 minutes.
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