Review: Concussion (12A)

He receives abusive phone calls that soon turn into veiled death threats. His mentor gets a visit from the FBI; Omalu knows he will be forced to testify against his ally – that they’re going after him by threatening his friend. And his pregnant wife is followed by a mysterious vehicle that so frightens her that she miscarries their baby.

It’s heavy stuff and underlines the mood of fear and suspicion that surrounded Omalu when his research showed how American footballers were dying of undiagnosed brain trauma.

But the individual experiences of a smattering of desperate men count for nothing in the multi-billion dollar world of sport. Interfere at your peril, Omalu is told. What’s more he’s an outsider, an immigrant, and “a quack”.

The story of how Omalu diagnosed CTE – chronic traumatic encephalopathy – caused by repeated concussions during play is transformed into a traditional Hollywood tale of David and Goliath. In this case Omalu is the little man and the mighty National Football League is the giant. But the science of it gives way to sentiment as real people’s stories – and the evidence of their bodies on the autopsy table – provide an emotive core.

Smith, with Nigerian accent and a courteous, tenacious approach to the job (Omalu talks to his corpses, asking for their help) eschews any sense of grandstanding to deliver a sober and restrained performance.

A gallery of character players – Alec Baldwin, David Morse, Albert Brooks, Eddie Marsan – provide support, with Gugu Mbatha-Raw as the (somewhat distracting) love interest. But this is Smith’s film – and Omalu’s uplifting story. On general release. Tony Earnshaw