A concussion is, essentially, a brain bruise caused by the organ smashing against the skull, causing damage that can last from weeks to years. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a long-term degenerative disease caused by decades of concussive and sub-concussive blows to the head. It was previously known as dementia pugilistica or punch-drunk syndrome, initially discovered in 1928, so Omalu really didn’t discover anything. This is important! Photos courtesy Columbia Pictures.
The new movie Concussion isn’t about concussions at all, but about the discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, an entirely different brain disease. It is the opinion of this publication that misnaming the movie is a deceitful, underhanded attempt by the producers to attract more viewers, given that concussions are a much more talked-about injury. As such, for the duration of this review, the movie shall be referred to as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy starts with Pittsburgh Steelers legend “Iron” Mike Webster (David Morse), who won four Super Bowls with the team between 1975 and 1980, being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He would die five years later a divorced, financially ruined, self-mutilating wreck. Pittsburgh Medical Examiner’s Office coroner Bennett Omalu (Will Smith), unsatisfied that a simple heart attack killed Webster, dug deeper into his death and discovered irregularities in his brain tissue. Over the next few years, Omalu discovers similar symptoms in several other NFL players who died young and reportedly experienced depression and dementia after retirement. Omalu goes on a crusade to get the NFL to acknowledge the new-found dangers of football. He gains allies along the way — his boss at the medical examiner’s office, Cyril Wecht (Albert Brooks), and former Steelers team doctor Julian Bailes (Alec Baldwin) — but also faces stiff competition from the league, which desires to keep his research under wraps. Omalu also meets a woman, Prema Mutiso (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), and gets married, but despite what the movie thinks, this aspect of his life is really unimportant to this story.
Reel Entropy 