"Concussion" Declared "Must-Watch" Film, But Criticized For Over-Dramatization Of Facts

"Concussion" is a movie that the NFL "will absolutely hate," according to Cameron Wolfe of the DENVER POST. The film says that it "is based on facts." Wolfe: "And by my account, it is." Of course, there "is some dramatization, but not enough Hollywood to take away from the film's true message." There is no "hiding from the elephant in the room anymore." This is a "must-watch, no matter what side of the issue you are on" (DENVER POST, 12/5). In Chicago, Rick Telander wrote the film's "dilemma" is that it is not "nearly as exciting as an NFL game itself." But the film "is a whistle-blower thriller," and it "does what it intends to do." This story "should be another lesson to all about trusting monoliths that have a product to protect." Telander: "But here’s what troubles me most. At the end comes this disclaimer: 'While this story is based on actual events, certain characters, characteristics, incidents, locations and dialogue were fictionalized or invented for the purposes of dramatization.' Why? The history stands alone. ... Did the NFL scare Columbia Pictures? Because with that disclaimer, the league wins again" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 12/5). In Boston, Ben Volin writes, "I’m not saying the NFL has always acted admirably or honestly about concussions and head injuries, but 'Concussion' makes the NFL out to be cartoonishly evil to the point that it stretches credibility." The movie "makes no mention that head trauma occurs frequently in other high-impact sports -- hockey and soccer among them -- and accuses the league of all kinds of sinister misdeeds." The film "turns unwatchable pretty quickly" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/6).

STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH: Forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, who is the central figure depicted by Will Smith in "Concussion," writes an Op/Ed for the N.Y. TIMES under the header, "Don't Let Kids Play Football." Over the past two decades, it has "become clear that repetitive blows to the head in high-impact contact sports like football, ice hockey, mixed martial arts and boxing place athletes at risk of permanent brain damage." Omalu: "Why, then, do we continue to intentionally expose our children to this risk? ... When we knowingly and willfully allow a child to play high-impact contact sports, are we endangering that child?" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/7).