Concussion (2013)
Average Rating: 6.7/10
Reviews Counted: 23
Fresh: 17 | Rotten: 6
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 6.4/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 5
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 307
Movie Info
Written and directed by Stacie Passon in an auspicious directing debut effort, and produced by Rose Troche, CONCUSSION is a poignant sexual examination of Abby (Robin Weigert in a star making breakout turn), a forty something married wealthy, lesbian housewife who, after suffering a blow to the head from getting smacked by her son's baseball-walks around every corner of her suburban life to confront a mounting desire for something else. She takes on a new project and purchases a pied-à-terre in
Oct 4, 2013 Limited
$8.2k
Radius-TWC
Watch It Now
Cast
-
Robin Weigert
Abby -
Maggie Siff
Sam Bennet -
Jonathan Tchaikovsky
Justin -
Janel Moloney
Pru -
Julie Fain Lawrence
Kate Abelman -
Emily Kinney
The Girl -
Laila Robins
Woman #3 -
-
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All Critics (23) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (17) | Rotten (6)
The ending's a vague cop-out, but the movie is much smarter and more nuanced than the late-night-Cinemax setup suggests.
Top CriticIt's hard not to think about Last Tango in Paris, The Stepford Wives, Belle de Jour and Jeanne Dielmann as we experience Abby's spiritual and sensual reawakening.
For all that could be said of why this character chooses this path - of what this says, or she thinks it says, about control, or submission, or transgressiveness - the movie says nothing.
Ms. Passon ultimately seems to skirt some of the larger life questions hinted at along the way.
It is Weigert's performance that gives the film its mystery and charge. Playing seriously with identity, she draws the viewer ever closer. The way she never reveals everything is electrifying.
The ambitions of writer-director Stacie Passon's plot feel too tame, revving up to a scene of shame rather than radical revision. The Kids Are All Right pushed similar material to more affecting ends.
Weigert's performance resonates with authenticity, even if the plot mechanics become frustrating.
Weigert's full range of emotion is quite staggering: she can be funny, maternal, and flirty all at once, and in a film that relies on her so greatly, she is endlessly watchable.
Takes this well-worn storyline and makes something unique out of it, something fresh and bizarre.
Weigert is the film's constant saving grace, her fast wit and enormous range suggesting that Abby is aware of the irrationality of her situation -- and yet, no matter what, remains hell-bent on seeing it through to the bitter end.
The viewer is presented with a series of caustic, vignette-like scenes which tease bigger themes but end before they can tackle them ...
Concussion is firmly grounded in reality, and that verisimilitude is what makes it intermittently shine.
The near-imperceptible finesse of Abby's characterization reflects writer-director Stacie Passon's effortless, interesting mix of richness and economy.
Concussion is a remarkably sex-positive film and for that it should be commended.
A breakout role for Weigert...deserves to be seen by a wide audience.. because it's just an exceptional and pleasurable film
This is a smart film with a provocative and captivating script.
Concussion is a brilliantly nuanced look at the complications of modern relationships.
A sharp-edged drama about a lesbian housewife turned high-end hooker, Concussion marks an accomplished feature debut from commercial producer-director Stacie Passon.
Audience Reviews for Concussion
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While overall not bad, "Concussion" gets off to a promising start with a nice use of humor but once it gets to its central concept, it just settles down into a rut. While this might work for a marriage, it does not do quite so well for a movie. Thematically, despite what you might have heard, the movie has more in common with "American Beauty" than with "The Kids Are All Right," as "Concussion" also involves a character who is tired of suburban existence and wants to return to her sexier, more exciting youth, which Abby displays through her Blondie and CBGB t-shirts. While she seeks to stimulate herself, she is also looking for stimulating conversation. And being beaned in the head by your kid will do that to a person.