CONCUSSION: OSCAR WORTHY?

Perhaps the most controversial thing to happen to movies this past year was that revolving around race when it came to the Oscars. The flame that lit the fuse on the discussion came from Jada Pinkett Smith, actress and wife of Will Smith, who was upset that more blacks did not make the final cut when it came to the awards, especially since her husband had done such a wonderful job in the film CONCUSSION. The argument can be made for both sides of the issue but with the release this week of that film the time to discuss Smith’s performance and whether or not it was Oscar worthy is at hand.

The movie features Smith in the true story of Dr. Bennett Omalu, an American immigrant and forensic neuropathologist in Pittsburgh who is doing the autopsy on Mike Webster. Webster was a star for the professional football team the Pittsburgh Steelers who had fallen on hard times after retiring suffering bouts or amnesia, dementia, depression and more while living out of his truck. Having died of an apparent heart attack at age 50, Omalu made a discovery while doing his autopsy on Webster.

While he had these various issues, Webster’s brain looked normal. While looking further into this Omalu discovers that Webster suffered from symptoms similar to those of professional boxers and in researching more issues with his brain tissue comes to the conclusion that he suffered from something unheard of before and which he names CTE of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. He publishes a paper on his findings alongside two well respected physicians and that’s when things get nasty.

While Omalu thought that his findings would be greeted with praise from the NFL he instead finds them doing their best to ruin his reputation and to force him out of his lab. The big business aspect of the game comes at him full force when the league refutes his findings and calls for him to retract his paper. Knowing the paper is accurate he refuses and the attacks on his findings and personal life begin.

As all of this is proceeding Omalu is also discovering something he was never focused on before. With a bit of nudging from his pastor, he takes on a boarder and new immigrant to help her acclimate to the US, Prema Mutiso (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). The two become close friends first and then find an attraction that leads them to marriage. As the attacks on Omalu continue they take their toll on Prema as well.

A legal battles ensues but not before Omalu finds a sympathetic ear in the form of Dr. Julian Bales (Alex Baldwin), a former physician for the Steelers. His conscious getting the better of him as ex-players he once patched up and sent back into the game begin dying from CTE, Bales assist Omalu not just in finding others who will back him up but in contacting NFL officials as well to bring this problem to into the limelight. Just what happens in the end makes for a well-made drama based on real life events that will make you think about the sport as well as those behind it.

It seems a poor choice of words to say that a movie based on such a tragedy is entertaining but the fact it that the movie does entertain as well as inform. There is not a bad performance among the entire cast here. This include David Morse in an almost unrecognizable part as Webster. Well shot, well directed and well written, the movie is one that everyone should see, in particular anyone hoping to involve their children in sports.

Which brings us to the question of Will Smith and his lack of a nomination for an Oscar for her performance here. When I think of the Oscar I’ve always thought that the awards were supposed to single people out for exceptional work be it photography, writing, directing or acting. With acting it needs to be a performance that stands out, that displays something different for the actor involved from anything done previously and should be so exceptional as to be better than anyone else. While Smith does an admirable job here as he always does I don’t think it was Oscar worthy. Yes it’s good but the best performance of any actor over the past year? I don’t think so. Smith has developed from a rap star to serious actor over the years and will undoubtedly find that opportunity for an Oscar in his future. But this was not the role that would take him there.

The topic in the film is one that needs to be discussed and from the ending of the film make you wonder just how serious it has been taken. It isn’t a “cause” movie but it does deliver an important message about the problems of injuries in major sports. It’s a movie that is well worth renting and for fans of Smith and movies of this nature worth adding to your collection.

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