Not what I expected

Rating: 9/10 (9 September 2017)

I work professionally with individuals with concussions, including carrying out post-concussion assessments. Thus, this film was on my must-see list, but it felt a little bit obligatory for that reason. I was expecting kind of a dry, medical progress sort of story, with the scientific hero establishing new insights (and, of course, being recognized, sooner or later, for doing so). While that's kind of true in the final analysis, the story is actually about power and belief, including the struggle to change a system in which the very behaviours that create devastating brain injuries are glorified, celebrated --- and commercialized. That truth has few champions is a recurring story in every field of human endeavour, not just at the junction of science, healthcare and sports. But it is easy to forget how unpopular and unwelcome truth so commonly is, and the many reasons why this is so.
On an additional note, Will Smith outdid himself in exhibiting his capacity to portray a character who is obviously not a mere variation of "himself." He succeeds at placing himself imaginatively into a character who is somewhat distinctive and, more than that, not at all a North American stereotype --- that is, a successful immigrant who had established much of his success before he ever got here, and was then stymied in the United States by cultural forces whose nature, ultimately, is alien to his own background and experience.
In short, this was not a dry, scientific progress story; rather a gripping drama of struggle and hard-won victory --- and still only partially-won.