Peter Landesman’s “Concussion” tells an important and fascinating story in the most conservative way. It’s a showcase for a talented group of actors more than anything else, and while there’s nothing to really dislike about it, there isn’t a whole lot to love in terms of structure and presentation.
Based on the GQ article “Game Brain,” by Jeanne Marie Laskas, “Concussion” follows pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu (Will Smith), a Nigerian immigrant currently based in Pittsburgh. It’s established early on that he doesn’t do things the normal way; in fact, it’s explicitly stated in dialogue. When he performs autopsies, he listens to music via headphones and talks to his “clients” to get to know them, which causes him to take his sweet time and annoy his co-workers.
It’s through this curious fascination with the dead that leads him to Mike Webster, a Hall of Fame football center who died in shame, having suffered from dementia and plunging into financial ruin.
Omalu uncovers a shocking truth: Playing football long-term can cause serious long-term brain damage. As more former football players die from similar circumstances, Omalu — with the help of his superior, Dr. Cyril Wecht (Albert Brooks), and former Pittsburgh Steelers team doctor, Dr. Julian Bailes (Alec Baldwin) — works to bring this realization to light, one the NFL has been covering up.
The picture is a classic “individual-takes-on-a-corrupt-system drama.” When Wecht tells Omalu that the NFL “owns a day of the week,” there’s something almost staggering about hearing that.
The movie focuses on Omalu and his investigation, while the actual NFL stays primarily in the shadows. It could be argued that “Concussion” lets the NFL off a little too easy, but at the same time, had the movie been more scathing and critical, it wouldn’t be entirely genuine. Omalu simply wants awareness and acknowledgment on the NFL’s part that concussions are a very serious and real issue.
Smith does his best work here in a while. In “Concussion,” he gives an assured authentic performance, playing Omalu with humility and humor, as well as a slight undertone of arrogance and self-righteousness.
Brooks, Baldwin and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Prema Mutiso (Omalu’s girlfriend and eventual wife) also turn in strong work, even if they’re not in the movie nearly enough (especially Brooks).
Landesman’s direction is competent, and overall, the picture is more focused than his debut, “Parkland.” Yet, “Concussion” never quite pops off the screen the way it should; Landesman’s screenplay is procedural to a fault. For most of the running time, I sat and watched from a distance, never getting totally absorbed in the material, even as Omalu digs deeper and the NFL gets angrier. There’s very little surprise, even as someone who knew nothing about Omalu. I could sense every big turn and revelation well before it arrived.
Additionally, the film suffers from too much obvious cliché dialogue that further distances the viewer from the material.
All in all, Landesman spells things out a little too clearly, not leaving much for us to think about. The ending is particularly unsatisfying, wrapping things up too neatly.
On top of all that, as good as Mbatha-Raw is, she isn’t given a lot to do. Once Perma becomes Omalu’s wife, her role is significantly minimized, showing up every now and then to give him cliché motivational talks. Perma becomes more of a background character, which, in turn, lessens the impact of a major third act moment involving her character. It’s a moment that should be devastating, but instead, we’re left cold.
In the end, “Concussion” is a perfectly decent, harmless film. But due to the importance of the subject matter, one can’t help but be mildly disappointed with Landesman’s film.
(Rated PG-13 for thematic material including some disturbing images, and language.)