In Concussion, Will Smith stars as Dr. Bennet Omalu, the brilliant forensic neuropathologist who made the first discovery of CTE, a football-related brain trauma, in a pro player. In this first trailer for the movie directed by Kill the Messenger writer Peter Landesman, we see something we haven’t seen in a while: top-notch Will Smith. The kind of dramatic range we haven’t seen since he was garnering Oscar nominations for Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness. When combined with the hyper-topical nature of the film, it’s not hard to see a future in which Smith is back in the Oscar conversation, followed by a big promotional push as he leads a major comic book movie (Suicide Squad) into theaters. It’s never not true, but nowadays it seems even more true that it’s good to be Will Smith.
It’s not so good to be the National Football League, which has been mired in controversy over the past few years. As a longtime fan of the game, I’ve found myself increasingly disenfranchised. From mishandled punishments for domestic violence cases to over-punishment for something involving deflated footballs, the NFL is in a tailspin. And it’s all a backdrop to the controversy about concussions. For anyone who would like to see some exceptional journalism on the topic, watch the Frontline documentary League of Denial, which is available to stream on PBS’ website. The hope is that a major motion picture will continue to bring awareness to the CTE epidemic and push the NFL and leagues at every level to continue to evaluate the safety of the game.
Concussion is due in theaters on December 25, 2015.
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