Hollywood Hallmark

Rating: 3/10 (17 February 2016)

"Concussion" is the cinematic equivalent of a stand-up who laughs at his own jokes. Each revelation, each tragedy, each teary-eyed silence is followed by either a line or a musical cue referencing what's already been well enough established. This malady is not unique to "Concussion," but that doesn't make it okay.
King charisma himself, Will Smith, plays Dr. Bennet Omalu, a pious pathologist from Nigeria, blissfully ignorant to the side effects of uninvited goodwill. Due to his findings, Omalu's life is made a Job- like living hell; his faith--in God and in humanity--is tested, and there's our movie.
The film borders on Lifetime/Hallmark levels of heavy-handedness, and never really questions Omalu's conviction or will; you may as well have put a white hat on him, and a big, wide-brimmed black hat on his detractors. There are ways to get the audience on a character's side without forcing he or she's morality on us; it's like if you want to get someone to pick up an apple, you don't shove it in his hand and close his fist, for the first thing he'll do when you let go is drop the apple. You place the apple in front of him and a little to the side, talk it up a bit, then move on. Eventually, he will pick up the apple--he may put it back down, but at least he tried. Having the main character be so free of fault makes the movie just another humdrum "little guy vs. big guy" story. I realize this is a true story, but lie to me; I don't mind.
Smith is good, as he usually is. Albert Brooks reminds the audience of gravity's effect on testicles. Alec Baldwin has one of the more interesting characters in the movie, but is sidelined. Luke Wilson is Roger Goodell for two minutes of screen time, which would have taken me out of the movie if wasn't already. David Morse plays the incitement of the story; he's got one note to hit, but makes an impression nonetheless.
Like watching a bad comic, I just wanted it to end. I wanted the comically large walking cane to come out from the side of the frame and yank everyone off. To add insult to injury, the movie runs out of steam towards the end but keeps going, like a radio DJ who can't hit the post and talks over the whole song. I've run out of analogies.