Will Smith elevates formula underdog drama 'Concussion'
A death occurs halfway through this fact-based, formula underdog drama.
What dies is nothing less than American idealism, as perceived by a disillusioned immigrant.
"When I was a boy, heaven was here," Dr. Bennet Omalu says, holding his hand high in the air. "America was here." He lowers his hand, just a bit.
Omalu comes from Nigeria. During the opening of Peter Landesman's "Concussion," Omalu - underplayed with powerful restraint, intelligence and a perfectly pitched Nigerian accent by Will Smith - reels off a resume of doctorates, masters degrees (one in musical theory from London) and board certifications.
The soft-spoken Omalu lives the American dream. Until America and one of its favorite pastimes turn on him.
Omalu performs an autopsy on Pittsburgh Steelers legend Mike Webster (David Morse), who suffered from memory loss and depression, then died at age 50, but looking older.
Curious, Omalu tests the football star's brain. He finds a shocking amount of neurological deterioration. He names the syndrome "chronic traumatic encephalopathy" (CTE). He connects CTE to thousands of concussions that pro ballplayers suffer. He publishes his findings.
Omalu thought he would be a hero for discovering why so many former football players such as Justin Strzelczyk (Matthew Willig) and Dave Duerson (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), fell into apparent mental illness, and some committed suicide.
The naive Omalu doesn't understand how the NFL could reject scientific evidence and disavow his work.
"It's business," says Julian Bailes (Alec Baldwin), a former Steelers team doctor who takes Omalu's side.
If even 10 percent of mothers stop their children from participating in football, one observer points out, "it's the end of football!"
We've seen this story many times before: A virtuous person of truth takes on a corrupt American institution victimizing people, be it an energy company ("Erin Brockovich), the tobacco industry ("The Insider") or the church ("Spotlight").
Landesman, director of the JFK drama "Parkland," squanders a potentially riveting drama inspiring outrage and awareness by adapting a muddled screenplay from Jean Marie Laskas' GQ article "Game Brain."
Federal agents invade the offices of Omalu's supportive boss, Cyril Wecht (Albert Brooks in quasi-comic relief mode), hitting him with multiple counts of fraud and theft. Then, they sinisterly threaten Omalu with deportation. Are they in cahoots with the NFL? Did Wecht commit crimes? Was he framed? No answers.
A romantic subplot involving Omalu and an African refugee named Prema (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, pumping blood into her character) feels more obligatory than essential. Prema eventually marries the doctor and becomes pregnant, only to lose her baby after a mysterious car tails her one afternoon and upsets her.
Was the NFL behind this moment of paranoia? Was it responsible for the miscarriage?
Smith's polished, selfless performance carries this film, a disappointment as far as heroic underdog dramas go. But still effective as a reminder of the high principles we profess to the world, and how crushing it should be when our institutions sell out.
"You're in America now," Omalu cautions his future wife. "You need to be the best version of yourself."
The Nigerian doctor goes one even better. He becomes the best version of what Americans strive to be.
“Concussion”
★ ★ ★
Starring: Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Arliss Howard, Paul Reiser, Luke Wilson
Directed by: Peter Landesman
Other: A Columbia Pictures release. Rated PG-13 for disturbing images, language. 121 minutes