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Concussion (2015 film)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = Concussion
| image = Concussion poster.jpg
| alt = Bennet Omalu in front of some football helmets
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Peter Landesman
| producer =
| writer = Peter Landesman
| based_on =
| starring =
| music = James Newton Howard
| cinematography = Salvatore Totino
| editing = William Goldenberg
| production_companies =
| distributor = Sony Pictures Releasing
| released =
| runtime = 122 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $3557 million
| gross = $48.6 million
}}
'Concussion' is a 2015 American biographical sports drama film written and directed by Peter Landesman, based on the expos "Game Brain" by Jeanne Marie Laskas, published in 2009 by 'GQ' magazine. Set during the 2000s, the film stars Will Smith as Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist who fights against the National Football League trying to suppress his research on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) brain degeneration suffered by professional football players.
The film premiered at AFI Fest on November 11, 2015 and was released by Columbia Pictures on December 25, 2015. The film grossed $48 million worldwide and received mixed reviews, although Smith earned a Golden Globe nomination.
Plot
Retired Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster is found dead in his pickup truck, after years of self-mutilation and homelessness. Before his death, Justin Strzelczyk, also a former fellow football player, confides in Webster that he is suffering from memory loss, is saying odd things to his children, and nearly threw his wife against the wall. A disoriented Webster brushes his worries off, deliriously telling him the most important thing "is to finish the game," reciting what he said in his Hall of Fame speech.
Dr. Bennet Omalu (Will Smith), a forensic pathologist with the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania coroner's office, handles Webster's autopsy. Wondering how an otherwise healthy man could have degenerated so quickly, he makes a point of figuring out why he died of a heart attack at only fifty years of age. Dr. Omalu closely examines microscope slides of Webster's brain, seeing evidence of severe neurotrauma. He concludes that Webster died as a result of the long-term effects of repeated blows to the head, a disorder he terms chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
With the help of former Steelers team doctor Julian Bailes, fellow neurologist Dr. Steven DeKosky and county coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht, Dr. Omalu publishes his findings in 'Neurosurgery', which are dismissed by the NFL. Soon after, Strzelczyk dies in a car accident.
Over several years, Dr. Omalu discovers that Strzelczyk (2004) and two other deceased NFL players, Terry Long (2005), and Andre Waters (2006), exhibited symptoms very similar to Webster's. He persuades newly appointed NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to allow him to present his findings before a player safety committee. However, the NFL does not take him seriously, and he is barred from the committee meeting, forcing the former NFL employee Bailes to give the presentation in his place.
However, the meeting is a set up, where the NFL claims that the players' head trauma is unrelated to football, but rather, due to past injuries. As he leaves the meeting, former NFL Players Association executive Dave Duerson angrily confronts Dr. Omalu and tells him to "go back to Africa."
Dr. Omalu is subjected to considerable pressure to back down from his efforts, as football is a widely beloved sport in Pittsburgh, providing jobs and allowing men to go to college. Wecht is subjected to a politically motivated prosecution on corruption charges, and Dr. Omalu is forced to leave Pittsburgh soon after, lest he be deported, or sent to prison on petty charges as punishment for tarnishing the NFL's image.
Before leaving, Dr. Omalu urges the NFL to tell the truth. His wife, Prema, suffers a miscarriage after being followed in her car. The Omalus are forced to leave their dream home outside Pittsburgh, relocating to Lodi, California where he takes a job with the San Joaquin County coroner's office.
Three years later, Dr. Omalu is vindicated when Duerson commits suicide due to an increasing inability to cope with worsening cognitive function. In his suicide note, he acknowledges Dr. Omalu was right, and offers his brain for future research. The doctor is invited to address an NFLPA conference on concussions and CTE. He says that he once wished he had never known Mike Webster, but by knowing him, he has the responsibility to inform NFL players of the true risks they take by playing. He says that he holds no resentment for the NFL and tells them to forgive themselves and be at peace.
Amid growing scrutiny from Congress, the NFL is forced to take the concussion issue more seriously, and in 2011, NFL players sue the league for not properly informing them of the risk of CTE. Dr. Omalu is offered the job of Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia, but Omalu turned the offer down to remain with his family in Lodi, becoming naturalized as a U.S. citizen in February 2015. A final montage includes reports of Junior Seau's suicide in 2012 and subsequent lawsuits brought against the NFL by thousands of former players.
Cast
* Will Smith as Dr. Bennet Omalu
* Alec Baldwin as Dr. Julian Bailes
* Albert Brooks as Dr. Cyril Wecht
* Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Prema Mutiso
* David Morse as Mike Webster
** Ben McDonnell as young Mike Webster
* Arliss Howard as Dr. Joseph Maroon
* Mike O'Malley as Daniel Sullivan
* Eddie Marsan as Dr. Steven T. DeKosky
* Hill Harper as Christopher Jones
* Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Dave Duerson
* Stephen Moyer as Dr. Ron Hamilton
* Richard T. Jones as Andre Waters
* Paul Reiser as Dr. Elliot Pellman
* Luke Wilson as Roger Goodell
* Dan Ziskie as Paul Tagliabue
* Sara Lindsey as Gracie
* Matthew Willig as Justin Strzelczyk
* Bitsie Tulloch as Keana Strzelczyk
* Eme Ikwuakor as Amobi Okoye (uncredited)
* Phillip Chorba as the technician
Production
Development
Ridley Scott's idea of an NFL concussion film was inspired by Dr. Bennett Omalu's study about former NFL stars Junior Seau and Dave Duerson, both of whom committed suicide after suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Scott was set to direct after his film 'Exodus: Gods and Kings', while he and Facio were looking for an A-list writer. In November and December 2013, two more NFL concussion films were in development, first 'Game Time Decision' with writer/director and former NFL training camp attendee wide receiver Matthew A. Cherry and actor Isaiah Washington, and another film 'League of Denial' with producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald. Landesman had based his script on the 2009 GQ article 'Game Brain' by Jeanne Marie Laskas.Will Smith entered negotiations to star in the film in June 2014. Smith was officially cast by the next month, when Alec Baldwin entered talks to join. In the months leading up to the start of production, Albert Brooks, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Luke Wilson, Bitsie Tulloch and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje would be announced as added to the cast.
It received $14.3 million in film tax credits from Pennsylvania.
Filming
Principal photography started on October 27, 2014, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and filmed there through mid-January. One of the film's key scenes was shot in Altius Restaurant in the Mt. Washington section of Pittsburgh. Other area scenes were shot at a church in Pittsburgh's Hill District, the Braddock Carnegie Library, and in downtown Pittsburgh.Music
James Newton Howard composed the score for the film. Klayton (frontman of Celldweller) provided synth programming for the score. R&B singer Leon Bridges provided a new song, called "So Long".Release
The first trailer was released on YouTube on August 31, 2015 by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Sony released the film on December 25, 2015. Marketing included advertisements for the film airing during NFL games.
'Concussion' was released on Digital HD on March 15, 2016, before being released two weeks later on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD on March 29, 2016.
Reception
Box office
'Concussion' grossed $34.5 million in North America and $14.1 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $48.6 million, against a budget of $35 million.In the United States and Canada, the film opened on December 25, 2015 alongside 'Daddy's Home', 'Joy', 'Point Break' and the nationwide expansion of 'The Big Short'. In its opening weekend, the film was projected to gross $810 million from 2,841 theaters. It eventually grossed $10.5 million, finishing 7th at the box office. Due to Smith's star status and the $35 million production budget, the film was considered a box office disappointment.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 58% based on 207 reviews, with an average rating of 6.00/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "'Concussion' lands a solid, well-acted hit on its impressively timely subject matter, even if its traditional, sports drama structure is a little too safe to deserve a full-on dance in the end zone." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 55 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.Will Smith's performance was praised for being "sensitive [and] understated" by the Associated Press. Alec Baldwin's performance was well-received, although his accent was criticized.
Accolades
Controversies
Family members of Dave Duerson, a former NFL player who suffered from CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) and committed suicide, claimed the film portrayed Duerson in a bad light. In one scene, Duerson's character called Omalu's character a "quack" in addition to telling him "to go back to Africa" and "get away from our game." In another scene, Duerson is shown mocking former NFL player Andre Waters when he filed an application for benefits in connection with head injuries he sustained while playing in the NFL. Duerson's family members called these scenes false. In response, Landesman, the film's director, stated that the film was "emotionally and spiritually accurate all the way through". When asked about the accuracy of the film, CTE researcher Steven DeKosky also noted that it took numerous liberties.
'Slate' science writer Daniel Engber, who has been skeptical of the link between CTE and the deaths of players found to have had it, called the film inaccurate in other ways, for example suggesting that Wecht's arrest on corruption charges was motivated by Omalu's paper, when in fact it was published three months afterwards. "[The film] feeds into a pervasive myth at the center of the national discussion over football and head injuries," he charges. In particular, he cites a 2012 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health study indicating that football players, on average compared to the population as a whole, live longer and generally healthier lives, though the study also indicates, as Engber concedes, that former football players are also more likely to suffer, and die, from neurodegenerative disease.
More recent research and thinking also looks at the steady accumulation of subconcussive blows, in addition to symptomatic concussions, as a major contribution factor in the development of CTE.[https://www.bu.edu/sph/2018/01/18/hits-not-concussions-cause-cte/ Hits, Not Concussions, Cause CTE] , Boston University School of Public, Jan. 18, 2018.[https://www.menshealth.com/health/a21346159/should-kids-play-football/ We Know Football Is Dangerous. So Why Are We Still Letting Our Sons Play It?] , 'Men's Health', Andrew Lawrence, July 10, 2018. For example, a 2018 study found that each year an athlete played tackle football before age 12 predicted earlier onset of CTE symptoms by an average of two-and-a half-years, but not symptom severity. These CTE symptoms include cognitive, behavioral, and mood problems.[http://www.espn.com/moresports/story/_/id/23367461/study-finds-youth-football-tied-earlier-cte "Study finds youth football tied to earlier symptoms of CTE,"] ESPN, April 30, 2018.[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ana.25245 Age of First Exposure to Tackle Football and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy] , 'Annals of Neurology', Michael L. Alosco PhD, Jesse Mez MD, MS, et al., April 30, 2018.
After comparing the script (from the Sony Pictures hack) with the released movie, 'Deadspin' claimed the movie was edited to appease the NFL, including reducing prominence of Roger Goodell and Paul Tagliabue in the film, as well as changing or removing dialogue. 'The New York Times' discovered emails directly referencing removing "unflattering moments for the NFL and removing most of the bite out of the film for legal reasons with the NFL". Landesman stated the changes were made "to portray the characters and story as accurately as possible to reduce the chance that the league could attack the filmmakers for taking too much creative license".
See also
* 'League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis'
* 'Head Games: The Global Concussion Crisis'
* Concussions in American football
References
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