Concussion Review
RYAN: This is the controversial true story of Dr. Bennet Omalu, who fought tirelessly against the NFL to bring to light CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), brain damage from multiple brain injuries.
CAROLINE: And it stars Will Smith. How was his accent?
RYAN: His Nigerian accent it excellent He’s quite good in this. I like Will and while it’s not the performance of the year, it is one of his personal best. He does real character work in this because this doctor is so different from who he is.
CAROLINE: He’s the biggest draw in this but there’s also a nice supporting cast – Alec Baldwin, Luke Wilson, Albert Brooks…
RYAN: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Morse – they’re all very good, especially David. I thought he was great as Hall of Famer Mike Webster.
CAROLINE: So did you like it?
RYAN: I liked parts of it – Will’s performance and the underdog aspect of his character. It’s like his Erin Brockovich story, but not as good; like, I’m not going to watch this again whereas I can rematch Erin anytime. But the justice he fights for in the medical society and against the NFL is all frustrating. And I’ll never look at football the same way again, after seeing this. Once you know about this, how can you?
CAROLINE: Yes it is upsetting that this happens and the NFL tried to deny it and make him look bad in the process.
RYAN: This is a real thing. I spoke with a neurologist recently who told me the human brain isn’t fully formed until age 26, so all the career football players in high school and then on scholarship in college, they’re potentially damaging their lives. Is it worth it if you go crazy and become suicidal in your 50s?
CAROLINE: Scary.
RYAN: And statistically, research shows this happens to the majority of players; not that they’ll all be suicidal, but they will have major problems that could be avoided. So this movie is political in that it starts the conversation about this issue.
CAROLINE: Very true. It’s funny how many sports movies you like, considering you don’t actually get into sports.
RYAN: I’m not a sports person, but the movies are usually rousing and suspenseful, emotional. This one really isn’t a sports movie though. You don’t seen many scenes on the field. This is a science/medical film.
CAROLINE: I’m on the same page, honey.
RYAN: Football is a like a religion to some people in this country. It’s the basis of relationships and a culture. I never got into it, but I understand how this is controversial. It shouldn’t be. It’s reality. It’s an important film – just very, very slow moving.
