'Concussion' Review: Will Smith’s Hard-Hitting NFL Drama Scores Big

'Concussion' Review: Will Smith’s Hard-Hitting NFL Drama Scores Big, Movies “torn from the headlines” were already a Hollywood staple, traveling aback to the bandit films of the 1930s. But in contempo years, as projects yield best and best to appear to accomplishment and as studios abound added cautious, it’s attenuate to acquisition a absolutely timely, contemporary drama. Concussion is one of the exceptions. It dramatizes a crisis that is still authoritative account today: the dangers of austere academician accident acquired by the agitated collisions of pro football. The NFL fought to coffin the affirmation of these medical perils, and the alliance can’t be blessed about a high-profile cine bringing the issues into the limelight. Credit should go to ambassador Ridley Scott and to the admiral who backed the movie, befitting animate a attitude of muckraking that already did Hollywood proud. Although the blur is imperfect, it has apparent urgency, and Will Smith’s ablaze ability should ensure advantageous box appointment returns.

Smith plays Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian-born pathologist animate in Pittsburgh, who investigates the abortive afterlife of above Steelers ablaze Mike Webster. Omalu suspects a affiliation amid all the assault to the arch that Webster suffered and the dementia that led to his death. As he looks into the deaths of added players, Omalu identifies a academician agony alleged CTE that is awfully widespread. NFL doctors and club owners try to coffin his findings, but eventually Omalu finds allies who advice him to advance the truth.

This arbitrary may accomplish the blur complete like an bookish paper, but it’s thoroughly absorbing and entertaining. Director Peter Landesman formed as a announcer afore affective into filmmaking, and he has a faculty of how to grab an audience. He aswell showed in his underrated film, Parkland, a ball about the Kennedy assassination, that he has a absolute allowance in cartoon able performances from a ample cast.

Under Landesman’s guidance, Smith transforms himself impressively. He handles the emphasis after any fuss, and he submerges his accepted wise-guy persona into the appearance of this hardly annealed and aloof doctor. Smith doesn’t acculturate Omalu; we can see why the dogged, cocky man can acrimony his colleagues. The actuality that Omalu knew annihilation about football apparently fabricated him the ideal being to break one of America’s angelic cows.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw, the ablaze of Belle and Beyond the Lights, gives a absorbing achievement in what ability accept been a banal role as the hero’s admiring wife. Prema never seems abashed by her ablaze husband; she’s accommodating to angle up to him and claiming him. Alec Baldwin has a ample role as the above Steelers doctor who becomes Omalu’s ally, and although Baldwin’s Southern emphasis wobbles, he plays his affectionate role forcefully. Albert Brooks as Omalu’s contemptuous coach comes abutting to burglary the movie.But what’s a lot of absorbing about Landesman’s plan is that he aswell allows actors who alone accept a arena or two to annals vividly. David Morse is bugged in his few scenes as Webster, but he works from the central out and in just a few moments makes us accept the confusion that the bold has wrought on this already boss warrior. Eddie Marsan, Arliss Howard and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje aswell accomplish the a lot of of just a few moments of awning time to actualize characters who appear absolutely alive. Although Smith is the ablaze of the film, this is a accurate ensemble movie, in which every aerialist enriches the tapestry.

As a section of filmmaking, Concussion is competent but not inspired. The abrupt flashes of abandon on the football acreage accomplish their point in a rather pro forma way; they don’t absolutely accomplish the all-important impact. James Newton Howard’s account is sometimes able and sometimes bombastic. On the added hand, Oscar acceptable editor William Goldenberg (Argo) helps accumulate the blur hurtling forward. In the end, this blur is basic in apprehension a hazard that was kept hidden for far too long. At endure the abstruse is out, and Landesman and his accomplished casting will advice to accumulate the chat going.
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