By Ruth Kramer ’18, News Editor
Based on a true story, Concussion tells the tale of Doctor Bennet Omalu, played by Will Smith, a man who immigrated to the USA from Nigeria to become a forensic scientist. We first meet Dr. Omalu in a courtroom where he has been asked to talk about the forensics of a murder case. This is where we learn how unbelievably qualified Dr. Omalu is in almost every field of medicine (just something to remember).
As the movie continues, moviegoers meet various famous football players, including Mike Webster, a famous center for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Suddenly, when Mike Webster dies, he ends up on Dr. Omalu’s table for an autopsy. Dr. Omalu has a peculiar way of performing autopsies; he talks to the corpses as if they are his “patients”, he uses new tools every single time, and he does not just settle for knowing how someone died– he wants to know why. So, despite the fact that Dr. Omalu knows how Mike Webster died, he is still unsatisfied. He orders that Webster’s brain be sliced for investigation. Upon inspecting Mike Webster’s brain, Dr. Omalu sees many problems. There’s been too much damage to his brain and too many hits to his head. Because of his broken brain, Mike Webster went insane and was thrown in a mental battle with himself. Dr. Omalu decides to name this newfound disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (or CTE).
As the movie continues, more football players die (almost all due to suicide) and Dr. Omalu gathers more and more evidence to build his case. He eventually publishes his work with the help of other doctors (one of whom was the Steeler’s team doctor in the 1980’s). At this point, the NFL has taken notice and so has its fans. Dr. Omalu is victimized and receives many unsettling phone calls, some of which are death threats and he is pressured over and over again by many different people to stop his research, to retract his findings. But he will not. If anything, this just pushes him further.
Concussion is a moving story not just about Dr. Omalu, but about doctors and players in the NFL. We get a glimpse into their lives; we see their glory days as well as their final days and learn how the two are related. Will Smith perfectly portrays Dr. Omalu and the completely all-star cast certainly delivers. There is no unnecessary scene, no useless lines, everything is in a perfect place at the perfect time. The film also gives us different perspectives on the concussion issue. Dr. Omalu, team doctors, players, the NFL, and even the fans get to share their view.
I’d highly recommend going to see Concussion. Love, hate, happiness, sadness, pride, and shame are all beautifully folded around each other to create a masterpiece film that will be remembered and watched for ages. Executive director of the NFL Players Association, DeMaurice Smith, even said that they are “encouraging their players to see [Concussion].” The film portrays many hard blows to the head which (even with the players wearing helmets) makes one cringe just watching it. Seeing a real NFL clip of a player being knocked-out cold and then put back in the game really makes you think. Next time you watch a football game, think of Concussion, think of the hits, think of players, and “honor our warriors”.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concussion_(2015_film)
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/12/23/nfl-reaction-concussion-movie-will-smith-bennet-omalu
