MOVIE OF THE WEEK #2 (12/25-31/15) CONCUSSION
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| "I just met the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ... Next up on my list, meeting Carlton!" Will Smith and writer/director Peter Landesman pose for a picture with the real Dr. Bennet Omalu on the set of the movie Concussion. Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon © 2015 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All rights reserved. |
WATCH THE TRAILER(S) HERE:
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Albert Brooks, Mike O'Malley, David Morse, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Arliss Howard, Paul Reiser, Hill Harper, Matthew Willig, Sara Lindsey, Richard T. Jones and Luke Wilson
WRITER(S): Peter Landesman (screenplay); based on the GQ article "Game Brain" by Jeanne Marie Laskas
DIRECTOR(S): Peter Landesman
60 SECOND PLOT SUMMARY (OR AS CLOSE TO THAT TIME AS ONE CAN MAKE IT): Dr. Bennet Olamu (Will Smith) is many things: A Nigerian immigrant to America who truly believes in the American dream, a man with more degrees than the average thermometer and the driver of a really nice Mercedes-Benz coupe. And while his penchant for talking to his deceased patients as if they were still alive somewhat amuses Gracie (Sara Lindsey), his Steelers-loving co-worker (Mike O'Malley) can't stand it. Fortunately, Dr. Cyril Wecht (Albert Brooks) is as understanding of Bennet's desire to do a good job as he is sarcastic just about everything else.
One thing Bennet is not, however, is a rabid football fan, which makes his working in the city of Pittsburgh a bit of an anomaly. That also means he has no idea who Mike Webster (David Morse) – the beloved Hall of Fame center who helped the Steelers to win many Super Bowls in the 1970s – is. Unfortunately, due to all of the erratic behavior is exhibiting lately that has rendered him homeless and away from his family, neither does Mike. Then Mike dies in tragic fashion in his pickup truck, leading to Bennet conducting his autopsy searching for answers as to what could drive a 50 year-old man "mad" as he says. All the CT scans reveal nothing out of the ordinary about Mike's brain, which leads Bennet – at his own expense, mind you – to conduct a series of newfound tests to figure out what could have gone wrong.
That leads to the discovery of what will eventually become known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE for short) ... What follows will change the lives of Bennet, his newfound roommate Prema (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and quite possibly every football player, coach, team owner and fan forever ....
One thing Bennet is not, however, is a rabid football fan, which makes his working in the city of Pittsburgh a bit of an anomaly. That also means he has no idea who Mike Webster (David Morse) – the beloved Hall of Fame center who helped the Steelers to win many Super Bowls in the 1970s – is. Unfortunately, due to all of the erratic behavior is exhibiting lately that has rendered him homeless and away from his family, neither does Mike. Then Mike dies in tragic fashion in his pickup truck, leading to Bennet conducting his autopsy searching for answers as to what could drive a 50 year-old man "mad" as he says. All the CT scans reveal nothing out of the ordinary about Mike's brain, which leads Bennet – at his own expense, mind you – to conduct a series of newfound tests to figure out what could have gone wrong.
That leads to the discovery of what will eventually become known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE for short) ... What follows will change the lives of Bennet, his newfound roommate Prema (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and quite possibly every football player, coach, team owner and fan forever ....
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? Will Smith fans; Albert Brooks fans; parents who have been looking for a reason to justify not letting their child play football; immigrants and people who believe in the American dream
WHO WON’T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? Paul Tagliabue, Roger Goodell and the NFL; Pittsburgh Steelers fans; former football players who trusted their team's doctor's care blindly and may be suffering from injuries as a result; anyone who likes or plays football and doesn't want to face the grim reality the film presents;
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? There are certain films that have cultural impacts on the American landscape in many ways, some of which end up in the American Film Institute's list of top 100 films that are revered and preserved for all future generations. Some, like Toy Story are light-hearted, feel good fare and others, like Rocky and The Shawshank Redemption are considered classics on the basis of their merit in regards to the art of storytelling with rich, vivid characters and an indomitable spirit. Then you have films like To Kill a Mockingbird and Schindler's List, which examine the very fabric of what it means to be human and overcome great adversity, prejudice and injustice on the road to a better world for us all.
Then you have a film like Concussion, which does the thing that arguably may be harder for us all to admit: That the very thing we enjoy is leading to the demise of far too many of us and we may ultimately be forced to make a choice whether or not it's worth it.
Unless you yourself have been concussed, you've likely have heard of the firestorm of findings regarding the issue of concussions in professional sports and the National Football League – or NFL, if you will – in particular. Whether it's the horrifying news about Webster and the 17 other former Pittsburgh players who have died since the start of the new millennium, the death of and following post-life controversy over honoring Hall of Famer players like Junior Seau, the 2012 tragedy of Jovan Belcher or the rather scary, heart-wrenching stories about NFL stars like Jim McMahon to recently retired players like former Cincinnati Bengal Ben Utecht, the evidence that the amount of head trauma one can suffer while playing football is mounting ... And the more that mounts, the more damning it is, which makes news like this coming just days before Concussion's national release all the more relevant.
Now, while the topic itself is inherently relevant, that has nothing at all to do with whether or not the film itself is any good. Which is why movie goers interested in the topic should be relieved that Concussion is good – very, very good as a matter of fact.
Smith is a good actor. Even when he's in movies of say, questionable quality at best (let's all just forget this happened and move on, OK?), he's still usually the best thing in the movie. In Concussion, Smith once again shows his mettle at not only being adept at handling serious fare, but masterful at it when he applies his full talent. His portrayal of Omalu is never comical or disrespectful to the man or his work, yet nuanced enough to convey the difficult he has in understanding the gravity of his work in the larger landscape of the NFL and the American conscious. Those factors make Smith's performance compelling from start to finish as you get to watch as a man who is doing groundbreaking work has a similar experience in his own personal life.
Supporting Smith on his journey is an equally stellar performance by the film's supporting cast, Brooks and Mbatha-Raw being the two standouts. Whereas Brooks adds a great deal of humor as Bennet's mentor and director of the hospital in which he works, Mbatha-Raw provides a quiet but strong companion for Smith to serve as his muse. But make no mistake, Concussion is Smith's show, be it the seemingly innocuous way he conducts his research to the way he presses on even when he is thrown another roadblock, the former Fresh Prince is on his game (no pun intended) throughout the film.
Then again, given the effective performances by Morse and former NFL player and Super Bowl winner-turned-dedicated-working-actor Matthew Willig as ex-Steelers lineman Justin Strzelczyk drive the point home, all under the keen eye of writer/director Peter Landesman who draws you into the story with subtle, engaging shots, sounds and dialogue.
Concussion is not just a story about head injuries. It's a story about a man trying to do what he believes is right, especially and in spite of nearly everyone around him trying to stop him. It's a story about someone believing in the true spirit of the notorious American dream ... And watching as he sees it crumble when it is oh so close in the literal palm of his hands. It's a story of David vs. Goliath, the truth vs. convenient fiction, how race figures into everything including science/knowledge and at what point do we have to put a mirror up to ourselves and say "this is wrong?" Those elements are the compelling elements that make Concussion work so well as a film, for they bring up many more questions than just does football cause eventual death?
That's not to suggest the film is perfect, however, since there are some people who are not happy with how certain characters (based on real people, nonetheless) are portrayed in the film and the word is out that Sony (the film's distributor) did some to work to appease the NFL regarding its depiction in the film – and it's still pretty damning.
However, the lasting impact (no pun intended) of Concussion is how it will make anyone who watches it face a conundrum: How can you ignore the evidence that the game America lovesmay be likely is detrimental to its participants' health/quality of life? Given how entertaining Concussion – a movie about the discovery of brain injuries caused possibly caused by the sport so many people love – is, plenty of audiences will be left wondering the same thing once they've realized what they've seen.
Then you have a film like Concussion, which does the thing that arguably may be harder for us all to admit: That the very thing we enjoy is leading to the demise of far too many of us and we may ultimately be forced to make a choice whether or not it's worth it.
Unless you yourself have been concussed, you've likely have heard of the firestorm of findings regarding the issue of concussions in professional sports and the National Football League – or NFL, if you will – in particular. Whether it's the horrifying news about Webster and the 17 other former Pittsburgh players who have died since the start of the new millennium, the death of and following post-life controversy over honoring Hall of Famer players like Junior Seau, the 2012 tragedy of Jovan Belcher or the rather scary, heart-wrenching stories about NFL stars like Jim McMahon to recently retired players like former Cincinnati Bengal Ben Utecht, the evidence that the amount of head trauma one can suffer while playing football is mounting ... And the more that mounts, the more damning it is, which makes news like this coming just days before Concussion's national release all the more relevant.
Now, while the topic itself is inherently relevant, that has nothing at all to do with whether or not the film itself is any good. Which is why movie goers interested in the topic should be relieved that Concussion is good – very, very good as a matter of fact.
Smith is a good actor. Even when he's in movies of say, questionable quality at best (let's all just forget this happened and move on, OK?), he's still usually the best thing in the movie. In Concussion, Smith once again shows his mettle at not only being adept at handling serious fare, but masterful at it when he applies his full talent. His portrayal of Omalu is never comical or disrespectful to the man or his work, yet nuanced enough to convey the difficult he has in understanding the gravity of his work in the larger landscape of the NFL and the American conscious. Those factors make Smith's performance compelling from start to finish as you get to watch as a man who is doing groundbreaking work has a similar experience in his own personal life.
Supporting Smith on his journey is an equally stellar performance by the film's supporting cast, Brooks and Mbatha-Raw being the two standouts. Whereas Brooks adds a great deal of humor as Bennet's mentor and director of the hospital in which he works, Mbatha-Raw provides a quiet but strong companion for Smith to serve as his muse. But make no mistake, Concussion is Smith's show, be it the seemingly innocuous way he conducts his research to the way he presses on even when he is thrown another roadblock, the former Fresh Prince is on his game (no pun intended) throughout the film.
Then again, given the effective performances by Morse and former NFL player and Super Bowl winner-turned-dedicated-working-actor Matthew Willig as ex-Steelers lineman Justin Strzelczyk drive the point home, all under the keen eye of writer/director Peter Landesman who draws you into the story with subtle, engaging shots, sounds and dialogue.
Concussion is not just a story about head injuries. It's a story about a man trying to do what he believes is right, especially and in spite of nearly everyone around him trying to stop him. It's a story about someone believing in the true spirit of the notorious American dream ... And watching as he sees it crumble when it is oh so close in the literal palm of his hands. It's a story of David vs. Goliath, the truth vs. convenient fiction, how race figures into everything including science/knowledge and at what point do we have to put a mirror up to ourselves and say "this is wrong?" Those elements are the compelling elements that make Concussion work so well as a film, for they bring up many more questions than just does football cause eventual death?
That's not to suggest the film is perfect, however, since there are some people who are not happy with how certain characters (based on real people, nonetheless) are portrayed in the film and the word is out that Sony (the film's distributor) did some to work to appease the NFL regarding its depiction in the film – and it's still pretty damning.
However, the lasting impact (no pun intended) of Concussion is how it will make anyone who watches it face a conundrum: How can you ignore the evidence that the game America loves
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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