Days after Will Smith told reporters that he felt his new film Concussion would not generate much controversy with the NFL, a new trailer for the film was released and you might wonder what the league thinks about it.
As with the first preview released, this new trailer begins by touting the story of Smith’s character, Dr. Bennet Omalu, and how he viewed America as a prosperous land of opportunity where anything was possible. His rise to becoming a forensic pathologist was a testament to that.
But the trailer then gets to what’s really driving the story. The death of Steelers legend Mike Webster (played by David Morse) triggered curiosity and confusion over what could have caused a relatively young, seemingly healthy man to depression and financial ruin? Omalu, who was working at the University of Pittsburgh at the time, begins to investigate. And that leads to his research and discovery of the degenerative brain disease afflicting many former football players who suffered from head trauma.
What makes this trailer different than the first one? The mention of an actual football player in Webster, along with the NFL. In particular, we see Luke Wilson as commissioner Roger Goodell at a press conference for the league’s player health and safety conference, accompanied by a voiceover from Alec Baldwin’s character, Dr. Julian Bailes, explaining all of the methods and substances players use to ward off their pain and continue to compete. In addition, he says that the NFL has known about its concussion problem for years.
That seems like something that might raise concern for the league. While the NFL has taken steps to treat and prevent concussions in recent years, the idea that league officials looked the other way upon learning of these issues is certainly something that could bring attention from more mainstream media outlets that didn’t scrutinize such stories before. It will certainly be intriguing to see how the NFL responds and whether it uses this movie to point out what’s been done since Omalu’s findings more than a decade ago.
Otherwise, we do see where Sony and its marketing appears to be going, by promoting the story of a whistle-blower and medical pioneer who stood up to a corporation and became a heroic figure, rather than painting the NFL as an evil, uncaring corporate entity. But is that what the media and general moviegoing public will focus on, or will they further question supporting a sport that encourages and overlooks its violence and the traumatic toll taken on its competitors?
Concussion opens in theaters Dec. 25.
