Concussion

This review may contain spoilers!

Will Smith just keeps delivering some great films. I would give Concussion a 7.5/10.

This film exposes an incredible story around the discovery of a gridiron football related disease and the immorality of the NFL as an organisation. I found this plot staggeringly good and I really enjoyed the moral debate that took place throughout; what really made this film so engaging was that the lead protagonist was a Nigerian immigrant who wasn't taken seriously so it brought out a lot of fantastic cultural identity themes as well. The editing for this film is what gives this film such artistic quality, most every cut had purpose and the way the film moved through more intense moments is really masterfully done. The score for this film is intense, the dark brooding music really heightens the narrative of Concussion.

Will Smith, who played Dr Bennet Omalu, was a fantastic protagonist in this film; Smith delivers one of his most emotional performances yet in this feature. David Morse, who played Mike Webster, was one of the only characters who showed the deterioation of his character well; it's so haunting to see the pain that Morse displays in this film. Arliss Howard, who played Dr Joseph Maroon, is one of the few antagonists that I enjoyed in this film; Howard's ignorant and almost indifferent character brought out the perfect emotional responses from Smith in their scene.Eddie Marsan, who played Dr Steven DeKosky, is a very intimidating and blunt role; I loved watching his perspective of Smith change from indifference to agreement.

However the best performance came from Albert Brooks, who played Dr Cyril Wecht. Brooks was having the most fun in this film without a doubt, I feel like he easily had the best line delivery. His mentor character to Smith is a really important part of this film and I enjoy how much camaraderie we see between these two characters. Brooks brings a character who'll be defiant and caring, funny and tired and a whole number of conflicting emotions that are presented brilliantly in this film.

The love story between Smith and Mbatha-Raw's roles was really agonising to watch in this film; frankly if this had been cut down or given less film then this film wouldn't have dragged it's heels as much. As it stood however this film was a little slow, it took time to pay attention to details and this did have a negative impact upon the film's pacing. However my biggest gripe about this film is the cinematography which just didn't do this great story justice; the shooting didn't display a clear sense of direction and the framing was awkward more often than not.

Alec Baldwin, who played Dr Julian Bailes, didn't play his role very well in this film; I normally love Baldwin but he just didn't display a character or performance that was very interesting in this film. Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who played Prema Mutiso, brought the quality of this film down in my eyes; the entire romance subplot around her character wasn't vital to the story at all. Mike O'Malley, who played Daniel Sullivan, was an antagonist character to Smith that you just didn't care much about; his rivallry with Smith was never explored and neither was his character. Hill Harper, who played Christopher Jones, was an antagonist with no focus in this film; Harper had weak screen presence and didn't feel like a part of the plot. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who played Dave Duerson, had no real reason to be in this film; as it stood his character had zero impact to the film and was barely in the story up until his death. Stephen Moyer, who played Dr Ron Hamilton, had no screen presence in this film; he is quickly overshadowed by Smith, Brooks and Marsan. Sara Lindsey, who played Gracie, really should have had more focus as the nurse aiding Smith in this film; as it was she barely got to speak despite having significant screen time in this film. Matthew Willig, who played Justin Strzelczyk, gives the worst performance of the film; his acting when his character 'breaks down' isn't very convincing at all. Bitsie Tulloch, who played Keana Strzelczyk, shows a lot of potential in this film but ultimately isn't given the screen time to act upon this; there should have been more time given to the football players who died after Webster rather than Smith and Mbatha-Raw's romance.