Concussion
My main curiosity with regard to this movie was around Will Smith's performance and whether any of the Oscar protests were justified. In my view, they are not! His performance was very flat, he lacked gravitas and at times he was a caricature reminiscent of Eddie Murphy's fancy-dress on the train in Trading Places. I know Mrs Smith has been suggesting (stating?) that he should have been considered for an Oscar nomination, I think the only thing that proves is that love really is blind.
As for the movie itself, it was an interesting subject matter and not something I was very familiar with. It doesn't seem to be rocket science to say that if you are hit on the head repeatedly (in this case while playing American Football) you will develop brain damage, but apparently this was disputed for a long time and the NFL conducted 'research' to prove that NFL players sustained pre concussive blows, meaning they were below the threshold for brain damage and so nothing to be worried about.
When a Nigerian coroner, played by Will Smith, has a revolutionary insight regarding the cumulative effect of these pre concussive blows, it turns into a Big Football controversy with him battling it out against the money-making machine that is the NFL. While this was an interesting story, it lacked the degree of impact and compassion that Russel Crowe elicits as the whistle-blower in the Big Tobacco story, "The Insider". Essentially, the NFL were not as evil as Big Tobacco, plus the sport itself while causing these very significant consequences for some of their players, is nowhere near as insidious as cigarettes.
So, Concussion has a hero who is a bit flat, a villain that is a bit fuzzy and an audience reaction that was a bit lukewarm. I did enjoy it, and I would recommend it to anyone with any interest in the NFL, but I wouldn't recommend it beyond that.
As for the movie itself, it was an interesting subject matter and not something I was very familiar with. It doesn't seem to be rocket science to say that if you are hit on the head repeatedly (in this case while playing American Football) you will develop brain damage, but apparently this was disputed for a long time and the NFL conducted 'research' to prove that NFL players sustained pre concussive blows, meaning they were below the threshold for brain damage and so nothing to be worried about.
When a Nigerian coroner, played by Will Smith, has a revolutionary insight regarding the cumulative effect of these pre concussive blows, it turns into a Big Football controversy with him battling it out against the money-making machine that is the NFL. While this was an interesting story, it lacked the degree of impact and compassion that Russel Crowe elicits as the whistle-blower in the Big Tobacco story, "The Insider". Essentially, the NFL were not as evil as Big Tobacco, plus the sport itself while causing these very significant consequences for some of their players, is nowhere near as insidious as cigarettes.
So, Concussion has a hero who is a bit flat, a villain that is a bit fuzzy and an audience reaction that was a bit lukewarm. I did enjoy it, and I would recommend it to anyone with any interest in the NFL, but I wouldn't recommend it beyond that.