Member review

Concussion is a fascinating and emotional film directed by Peter Landsman. It is based on the true story of Dr. Bennet Omalu (Will Smith), a pathologist who wishes to explore why professional NFL champions are becoming mentally ill and committing suicide at such young ages (about 50 years). The symptoms were similar to those of Alzheimer’s, and were usually passed off as that, but Dr. Omalu was curious and willing to pay thousands for his work to be noticed. The NFL were, of course unhappy with these findings, and the newly found disorder which Dr. Omalu names Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (or CTE for short). Will the NFL accept that American football is a dangerous sport for the brain? Is this film a good representation of the true story?

When I first put the film on, I didn’t know what to expect. I tend to veer towards action and science fiction movies, so this would be drastically different to what I usually watch. I must admit, I didn’t think that I would enjoy it very much. Oh, was I wrong! The film, albeit long, was captivating and I needed to see how it would end. The main thing that stood out to me was the acting. It was exemplary!! I didn’t feel like I was watching a film… I felt like I was there. I felt like I was with the characters on this amazing journey. The emotion was just so real and so powerful. I could feel what the characters were feeling. Now, that is hard for an actor or actress to do. The film was so powerful that I could have cried. Very good acting indeed.

However, I am quite uneducated on these events and I am unsure as to how mush of this film was dramatised or included to make a better film. It may not be fully accurate, which is fine as it is not a documentary, and is only based upon the story of Dr. Omalu. So, I am not sure if I can recommend this to someone who wants to watch this to become more educated. That aside, another problem for me was the length of the film. Though is was interesting and I wanted to stay until the end to see just what would happen, it was very long. Some scenes were repetitive and some didn’t need to be included.

In conclusion, if you are interested in the discovery of CTE or biographical films in general, this may be a film for you. Overall, I’d give it four stars out of five and it had definitely sparked my interest in the brain!