MOVIE REVIEW: Will Smith’s Nigerian accent great
In Concussion, Smith plays the real-life forensic pathologist from Nigeria, Dr Bennet Omalu, an immigrant who becomes the worst nightmare of the NFL. PHOTO| COURTESY
What you need to know:
Surprisingly enough, he has no knowledge of the game. An outsider at the Pittsburgh coroner’s office, Omalu has no friends because he apparently infuriates his co-workers because he talks to dead bodies.
He believes they have a story to tell. In order for him to know how they died, he has to know how they lived, so he asks for their help. Quite creepy, but it shows the dedication he has for his work.
Title: Concussion
Genre: Biography Drama Sport
Rating: 7/10
Release date: December 25, 2015
Running Time: 2 hours 3 mins
Director: Peter Landesman
Cast:
Will Smith as Dr Bennet Omalu
Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Prema Mutiso
Alec Baldwin as Dr Julian Bailed
David Morse as Mike Webster
Albert Brooks as Dr Cyril Wecht
Hill Harper as Christopher Jones
Does anyone else think that Will Smith is at his best when he stars in movies based on true stories, like in Pursuit of Happiness? In Concussion, Smith plays the real-life forensic pathologist from Nigeria, Dr Bennet Omalu, an immigrant who becomes the worst nightmare of the NFL.
Surprisingly enough, he has no knowledge of the game. An outsider at the Pittsburgh coroner’s office, Omalu has no friends because he apparently infuriates his co-workers because he talks to dead bodies.
He believes they have a story to tell. In order for him to know how they died, he has to know how they lived, so he asks for their help. Quite creepy, but it shows the dedication he has for his work.
He runs tests on a former NFL player, Iron Mike Webster, a beloved player of American football from the Pittsburgh Steelers. He discovers that the head butting Webster took on the pitch for years caused him to suffer from dementia, memory loss and
finally, his death. But this discovery isn’t taken too kindly by the powerful NFL. His research into other football players leads him to the same conclusion and he diagnoses the diseases as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).
But instead of being appreciated for this breakthrough, he is treated like an outcast.
In the movie, Smith masters the Nigerian accent, but not in a showy manner. It makes him charming, approachable and even with his character’s massive achievements, he comes off as humble. Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Prema Mutiso) is introduced as Omalu’s
future wife and she seems to have been greatly underused.
Although some might argue that her character slows the movie down and takes away the focus from the main story. (Spoiler alert) Omalu’s proposal to Prema might be the sweetest and most awkward thing you ever saw.
Concussion is a gripping story that hits home for the football community. It is as devastating when the audience sees players suffer breakdowns, some of which lead to suicide. Will Smith’s efforts in committing to the accent are highly commendable.
