Something the Lord Made
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Movie Reviews of Something the Lord Made
Movie Review: A movie I enjoy seeing repreatedly
Summary: 5 Stars
I want you to see this movie because it is a wonderfully acted story of people who actually lived not long ago and who did important things that still have an impact on the world we inhabit. This movie is about the birth of cardiac surgery and how the great surgeon Dr. Alfred Blalock came to perform the first heart surgery on the blue baby, Eileen Saxon, in 1944. It is also the story, and primarily the story of the great Vivien Thomas, an African-American, a surgical technician who was Dr. Blalock's assistant.
Thomas wanted to be a doctor, but his precarious finances were made impossible by the Great Depression. He was grateful to be hired as a janitor by Blalock. It wasn't long before Thomas' brilliance was appreciated by those who knew him, but the racist attitudes of those years prevented his great genius from being presented to and appreciated by the general public until much later.
Dr. Helen Taussig suggested a way to treat blue baby syndrome to Blalock who involved Thomas in researching the arterial shunt suggested by Taussig. Thomas first developed the way to create the syndrome in dogs and then developed the way of relieving it with the shunt. After a great deal of work with dogs, Thomas taught the procedure to Blalock and it was Blalock who did the first surgery in 1944. Thomas could not perform the surgery because he wasn't a doctor and he did not get public acknowledgement for his contribution for decades.
Still, acknowledgement did come, and we are all better for knowing about this genius, the life Thomas led and the contributions he made. Mos Def is brilliant as the quiet and dignified Thomas. It is a subtle and moving performance. Watch the details of the actor's characterization and how he adds so much depth to this portrayal of Thomas.
Alan Rickman is also fabulous as Dr. Blalock. Here is a brilliant surgeon with the ego that cardiac surgeons have (need to have) in order to brave the challenge of taking their patients to the brink of death in order to give them life. I enjoy the interactions between Blalock and Thomas. Blalock is clearly a good man. He braves much opposition to have Thomas in the surgical theater, but he is also a man of his time. Blalock does not directly participate in the racial attitudes of his era, but he doesn't take his challenge of them beyond bringing Thomas in when he needs him.
This movie is full of wonderful moments that I never tire of seeing. The other characters add to the richness of the movie, but it is the performances of Mos Def and Alan Rickman that make this movie the treasure it is.
Strongly and enthusiastically recommended.
Movie Review: Simply Beautiful!
Summary: 5 Stars
I can't say enough about this wonderful film. I am outraged that the movie studios wanted nothing to do with this film. So much the better for HBO I guess. The story is about the doctors who pioneered the technics for heart surgery. It was thought back then that you could not operate on the heart. Dr. Blalock thought otherwise. Vivien Thomas was a carpenters son and was very skilled at his trade. After losing his job he finds a job cleaning the lab for Dr. Blalock who was working on shock syndrome. He used dogs for his research. Blalock soon discovered that Thomas had skills beyond that of a carpenter.
It is said that Alan Rickman who played Dr. Blalock in the movie balked at saying the line "this is like Something the Lord made." He thought is was corny having to say the title of the movie as dialogue. I beg to differ. When you think of the line within the context of Vivien Thomas, a truer word was never spoken. Indeed, Thomas was something the Lord made. God made Vivien Thomas a doctor even though he never went to medical school. You've seen that happen before. A pianist who can't read music, a painter who never took art lessons, a preacher who never went to seminary school, etc.
Mos Def (he should buy himself a new name now) plays Thomas and he is brilliant in this role. I don't know if he'll ever do anything as wonderful as this again. He is a natural. Seems that the Lord made him an actor:) Def has great instincts and great timing. I was highly impressed. If you watch the film closely, you will notice that he changes his body language and voice 3 times as the character ages. Mos Def seems to play a spot on image of Thomas who played things close to the vest and was not prone to outbursts or fits of temper even when he became angry.
You must view this film. It's heart breaking to watch Blalock and the other doctors get their picture taken for a magazine while Thomas stands in the background with no recognition at all even though Blalock called him into the O.R. to talk him through the procedure.
I won't tell you what happens at the end but you'll be happy with the end results. Please, please, please don't miss this one. I must commend HBO. It seems as though they are the only company that produces african american themed films on a regular basis. Maybe we should ask Showtime and Cinemax what' up with that!
Movie Review: Vivien Thomas - a truly inspiring individual.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a quality HBO production about two extraordinary men who developed a new technique in heart surgery, (In fact heart surgery had never been done before) creating by-passes to the heart, in this case, the condition of `blue babies', where not enough blood or oxygen reaches the heart of the child, thus causing the skin to turn blue. This was a fatal condition before this surgical technique was developed. One can imagine that it is difficult enough operating on a full grown, adult heart, but the first by-pass surgery was done on an infant, which makes the event that much more incredible.
Alan Rickman plays the famous Dr. Alfred Blalock, whose approach to medicine generally extended beyond the received wisdom, forging ahead in to new areas and known for taking risks in the development of modern surgical medicine.
Mos Def put in an incredible performance as the famous African American, Vivien Thomas, once a skilled carpenter, to then discover his natural gift for surgery and medicine in general.
Since this groundbreaking surgery was performed, literally thousands of lives have been saved across the planet, thanks to the skill and determination of an educated and gifted researcher and a special autodidact, a man naturally skilled in surgery and a deep passion for the profession.
The film depicts the entrenched and generally accepted racism and social segregation at the time, shown with Vivien Thomas's constant battle against unfounded prejudice while working with Dr. Blalock at John Hopkins. However despite this racism, Thomas became an invaluable teacher at John Hopkins and finally, after the death of Dr. Blalock, was given the accolades, an honorary doctorate, and included as one of the great teachers and surgeons at the world famous hospital.
Is there humility in utter greatness? Well, to say the least, Vivien Thomas was terribly humble and extremely intelligent and, as the film implies, was the central contributor to the development of bypass surgery. What an inspiring individual.
HBO has a reputation for creating top quality films. Something the Lord Made is certainly one of them. Outstanding performances from the entire cast, a well written script, sound track and a story that should be more well known.
Excellent.
Movie Review: Superb acting in a wonderfully-written film
Summary: 5 Stars
Alan Rickman and Mos Def give superb performances in this wonderfully-written film about the triumph of intelligence and creativity over the effects of racial prejudice.
"Something The Lord Made" is the real-life story of Dr. Alfred Blalock and technician (later Dr.) Vivian Thomas, both of whom pioneered open-heart surgery in America in the mid-twentieth century.
Rickman, as Blalock, gives a flawless, charismatic portrayal of an egotistical surgeon who gains nobility of spirit while he defies (and yet is simultaneously confined by) the customs of his society. Rickman's performance is all the more impressive because he is British, and Blalock was an American from the south; nevertheless, Rickman's southern accent is natural and effortless.
Rickman brings likability and humanity to what could otherwise be an unsympathetic character; and this core humanity gives "Something The Lord Made" a depth not often seen in tales of bigotry within American society. Too often, tales of this sort delineate the bad guys from the good guys in an almost cartoonish fashion, but Rickman's Blalock is both good and bad, reflecting more accurately the reality of the times in which both characters lived.
Mos Def gives a subtle, moving and sympathetic performance as Vivian Thomas, a gifted man who is caught in the trap of prejudice and the expectations of an unenlighted society. The film clearly demonstrates that Thomas is the intellectual peer of Blalock; it is society and circumstance that for years robs Thomas of the practical opportunity to become Blalock's actual peer in terms of status. Def gives us the portrait of a man who chooses patience over reaction; through him, we feel outrage at the denial of the respect due Thomas, time and again.
The writing in this film is low-key and highly effective. Because American society has in some ways changed since the mid-twentieth century setting of this film, younger viewers may not understand the actions and choices made by Blalock and Thomas, both within this film and within real life. Nevertheless, "Something The Lord Made" gives an extremely uplifting and surprisingly accurate portrayal of life as it really existed in those times, and should be appreciated both as an historical and enlightening film.
Movie Review: Fantastic
Summary: 5 Stars
The hallmark of a great film, in my humble opinion, is its ability to stop us dead in our tracks. This is twofold: First, the film has the uncanny ability to make us stop whatever we're doing, when we come across it on cable, to watch; and second, the ability to absorb us totally and completely into the story. Such is the case with director Joseph Sargent's SOMETHING THE LORD MADE.
Based on true events, this is the story of Dr. Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas, two pioneers in the field of cardiac surgery. Dr. Blalock is obnoxious and high on ego; yet he also has dedicated his career to saving lives--in particular, "blue babies", the tiny infants with heart abnormalities preventing the flow of oxygen, thus usually leading to their deaths. Blalock hires Thomas, a quiet and unassuming African-American man, as a janitor in his lab at Vanderbilt, yet it soon becomes apparent to the surgeon that Thomas is a medical genius; soon Vivien is promoted to lab technician (although still receiving a janitor's pay), where he becomes indispensable to Blalock's ongoing research into open heart surgery--a very risky proposition in the 1940s. Once the surgery is successfully performed at Johns Hopkins University it is Dr. Blalock who receives all the credit and accolades, while Thomas, a perpetual victim of Jim Crow, is ignored or shunned. Even Blalock himself refuses to publicly acknowledge Thomas, leading to a tension that temporarily ends their association. Yet in the end, many years later, Thomas receives his overdue recognition at Johns Hopkins, in one of the most moving scenes you'll ever experience.
Quite frankly, for the most part, I find Alan Rickman annoying; yet as Dr. Blalock he is absolutely convincing and believable as the gruff, no-nonsense surgeon. And Mos Def is a most effective counterpart as the quiet, patient Thomas--a man yearning for one of humanity's most vital emotional needs: recognition. Meanwhile, director Sargent vividly recreates the sights and sounds of medical experiments and primitive surgery, which again immerses the viewer into the story. SOMETHING THE LORD MADE is an extraordinary, remarkable film, most highly and enthusiastically recommended.
--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning