Shattering truth

Movie
German title	Shattering truth
Original title	Concussion
Country of production	United Kingdom , ; Australia , ; USA
original language	English
Publishing year	2015
length	123 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12
Rod
Director	Peter Landesman
script	Peter Landesman
production	Elizabeth Cantillon , ; Giannina Facio-Scott , ; Ridley Scott , ; Larry Shuman , ; David Wolthoff
music	James Newton Howard
camera	Salvatore Totino
cut	William Goldenberg
occupation
	Will Smith : Dr. Bennet Omalu ; Gugu Mbatha-Raw : Prema Mutiso-Omalu; Albert Brooks : Dr. Cyril Wecht; Bitsie Tulloch : Keana Strzelczyk; Alec Baldwin : Dr. Julian Bailes; Stephen Moyer : Dr. Ron Hamilton; Arliss Howard : Dr. Joseph Maroon ; David Morse : Mike Webster ; Matt Willig : Justin Strzelczyk; Richard T. Jones : Andre Waters; Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje : Dave Duerson; Paul Reiser : Dr. Elliot Pellman; Luke Wilson : Roger Goodell ;

Shattering Truth (original title Concussion ) is a film drama by Peter Landesman , which premiered on November 10, 2015 at the AFI Film Festival. The film was released in US cinemas on December 25, 2015 and in German cinemas on February 18, 2016 and is about the health risks in American football .

action

The from Nigeria originating forensic pathologist and neuroscientist Dr. Bennet Omalu works in Pennsylvania on a US visa and, after post-mortem examinations of the brains of two former American football players of the National Football League (NFL), who suffered concussions several times during their sports careers and later died from suicide , that the repeated traumatic damage to the brain that changed the personality of the players. The NFL vehemently denies this. To support his theory, Omalu consults a number of other doctors. Omalu's research leads to a dangerous confrontation with the NFL, one of the most powerful institutions in the world. There is a lot of money in football and they try to make Omalu look like an incompetent charlatan. Omalu receives support from the former team doctor Dr. Julian Bailes, who is equally interested in bringing the truth to the public.

background

The story of the film is based on real events. The Nigerian neuropathologist Bennet Omalu had actually drawn attention to problems following traumatic brain injuries in American football. At the time at the University of Pittsburgh , Omalu investigated the cases of former NFL players Mike Webster and Justin Strzelczyk , who died in a car accident in 2004 at the age of 36. During the anatomical and histological examination of their brains, Omalu found neural degenerations such as those in demented boxers or in 80-year-old Alzheimer's patients . He also found characteristic collections of tau proteins that clearly differ from the histopathological picture in Alzheimer's or Parkinson's patients . The medical name for the traumatic illness is dementia pugilistica , also called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Film music

The soundtrack for the film is by James Newton Howard , comprises twenty songs and is 1:05:17 hours in length.

Title list of the soundtrack

Concussion
Dr. Bennet Testifies
Strzelczyk Visits Webster
Webster's autopsy
Jacked Up
The Head as a Weapon
Bennet and Prema
Strzelczyk Loses It
Published - Marry Me
We Used to Be Warriors
Tell the truth
I am Offended
Shakespeare
News Conference
Hello Little One
Prema Followed
Be at Peace
Bennet's Decision
Concussion End Titles
In the Darkness - Lisbeth Scott

Other songs not included in the soundtrack but heard in the film:

Happy Birthday To You - Mildred J. Hill and Patty Smith Hill
Psalm 50 - Owen Alstott
So Long - Leon Bridges
Love TKO - Teddy Pendergrass
How Great Is Our God - Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves and Ed Cash
Wheel Of Fortune Opening Theme, Toss Up and Toss Up Win - Steve Kaplan
Close The Door - Teddy Pendergrass
Move Ya Body - Nina Sky featuring Jabba

reception

Reviews

Patrick Heidmann from epd Film believes that Will Smith may not have been as good since Ali as he was in Shattering Truth , but in the end the film is unfortunately a bit too good, decent and solid to be able to provoke anger or indignation in a really compelling way, who deserved this true story. A film blogger from filmosophie.com pays tribute to the director's performance by considering the end of the film: At the end, Peter Landesman scores on another level. As a rule, films that deal with an American myth or that thematize American themes such as baseball or football always tend not to do without a certain dose of pathos. But shocking truth is surprisingly unimpressed by this tendency and gets along in a refreshing way without pathos and American way of life teachings.