Something the Lord Made (2004)
Every once in a while, HBO produces a tv-movie that doesn’t feel like a tv-movie. Something the Lord Made feels like a movie you’d go see in the theaters. Hailed and given awards and nominations, this medical drama deserves the very high praise.
Mos Def stars as a young black man in the 1930s who dreams of medical school but can’t afford to go. He gets a job as a janitor in a research lab at Johns Hopkins University under the demanding but brilliant doctor Alan Rickman. As Alan learns of his interest, knowledge, and capabilities, he promotes him to lab assistant and makes him a joint partner in his research. Of course, since this takes place in the South in the 1930s, there are quite a bit of racial tensions by hospital workers and fellow doctors who see a white doctor talking to his black assistant as an equal. When Mos Def first enters the hospital wearing his white coat, everyone he passes stares at him in shock, and when he follows his colleague into the “whites only” bathroom to finish their conversation, the other men leave the room.
Kyra Sedwick and Gabrielle Union play the two leads’ wives, and since the movie takes place over many decades, it’s fun to see them with age makeup on. For the medically-inclined audience members, there are several operations shown in detail to explain the type of breakthrough research the real people did. If you’ve never heard of Dr. Blalock or Vivien Thomas, you’ll find the work they did incredibly interesting, and if you do know your history, you’ll find a very touching story even more heartwarming. There’s so much that stands out in this movie, it’s difficult to highlight just one scene as the finest. You’ll also get to hear Alan Rickman put on a Southern accent, and see a surprisingly effective performance from Mos Def.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to graphic medical procedures and an upsetting scene involving an animal, I wouldn’t let my kids watch it.
More Alan Rickman movies here!
Mos Def stars as a young black man in the 1930s who dreams of medical school but can’t afford to go. He gets a job as a janitor in a research lab at Johns Hopkins University under the demanding but brilliant doctor Alan Rickman. As Alan learns of his interest, knowledge, and capabilities, he promotes him to lab assistant and makes him a joint partner in his research. Of course, since this takes place in the South in the 1930s, there are quite a bit of racial tensions by hospital workers and fellow doctors who see a white doctor talking to his black assistant as an equal. When Mos Def first enters the hospital wearing his white coat, everyone he passes stares at him in shock, and when he follows his colleague into the “whites only” bathroom to finish their conversation, the other men leave the room.
Kyra Sedwick and Gabrielle Union play the two leads’ wives, and since the movie takes place over many decades, it’s fun to see them with age makeup on. For the medically-inclined audience members, there are several operations shown in detail to explain the type of breakthrough research the real people did. If you’ve never heard of Dr. Blalock or Vivien Thomas, you’ll find the work they did incredibly interesting, and if you do know your history, you’ll find a very touching story even more heartwarming. There’s so much that stands out in this movie, it’s difficult to highlight just one scene as the finest. You’ll also get to hear Alan Rickman put on a Southern accent, and see a surprisingly effective performance from Mos Def.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to graphic medical procedures and an upsetting scene involving an animal, I wouldn’t let my kids watch it.
More Alan Rickman movies here!