08.29.08
Something the Lord Made
Something the Lord Made
Starring: Alan Rickman, Mos Def, Kyra Sedgewick, Gabrielle Union
Written by: Peter Silverman and Robert Caswell Release Date: May 30, 2004
A movie near and dear to my heart (you’ll get the joke/point later) that is just the kind of movie that depicts real people and real events that you would never had known about without watching the movie. I recommend everyone watch this movie.
HBO produced Something the Lord Made in 2004 and it plays every couple of months. I believe I’ve seen this movie more than ten times and it never fails to affect me. Rapper Mos Def plays Vivien Thomas, a gifted black carpenter from Tennessee who goes to work for an ambitious surgeon, Dr. Alfred Blalock, played by the talented Alan Rickman. Originally hired to clean Blalock’s laboratory and the kennels, Vivien Thomas displays the talent and aptitude beyond that of even college graduates leading to his becoming Dr. Blalock’s lab assistant. After succeeding at Vanderbilt in treating shock patients, Blalock and Thomas move to Baltimore to work at Johns Hopkins Medical School.
Deciding to pioneer the field of heart surgery with the help of medical students including now renowned surgeons, Drs. Denton Cooley and William Longmire both men face their ambitions, goals, detractors, and personal responsibilities. Where the movie shines is showing the relationship between a white doctor and a black layperson during a time when their relationship was defined by Jim Crow and then integration during a time each made such an impact on the field of medicine.
The movie was based on a magazine article about the blue baby syndrome leading to the first heart surgery. Vivien Thomas’s contributions to Johns Hopkins Hospital are chronicled here. Dr. Blalock’s contributions to Hopkins are found here. The best source for this inspiring story is Katie McCabe’s award winning magazine article published by The Washingtonian. Read the article here. Something The Lord Made won the Emmy for best television movie in 2004.
This qualifies as a legal movie for its subplot of Vivien’s brother Harold Thomas’ (played by Clayton LeBouef) fight for equal pay for African-American teachers in Tennessee. The case was argued by Thurgood Marshall of the NAACP.
FIVE Gavels.
J Boling said,
September 5, 2008 at 12:26 am
I also enjoyed this movie,. and guess what I live in Culloden Georgia (no joke) its just a small town with a little over 200 people. We have alot of history and pride. But Blalock is our HERO.
Thanks,
J. Boling
KJ said,
September 5, 2008 at 4:18 am
I just recently watched this. I am now doing a research paper on Vivien and Alfred’s first operation. They’re two people that I’ve grown to love very much and I want to learn as much about them as possible.
William Dominguez said,
September 10, 2008 at 10:12 pm
There’s a lot on the internet about these two pioneers. I provided links to the original magazine article and to HBO’s website. I want people to know what these men accomplished and to create an interest in learning about them. Again, this might be my all time favorite movie. I could be biased because I passed the hospital on Charles Street often during my time in Baltimore and the fact I have benefitted from heart surgery. A lot of people owe their lives to these men…even today.
francesca said,
September 19, 2008 at 8:23 pm
vivien thomas saved my brothers life
William Dominguez said,
September 21, 2008 at 9:01 pm
I revised this post to include acting and writing credits omitted from the original post. Additionally, there is a reference to the reason this is my favorite movie that is not included. I’m putting the reason in this comment so only persons who really are interested in this movie will see. I’ve had heart problems for the last 8 years and have undergone several heart surgeries since then. I am told of my need for a heart transplant that took away my summer and hopefully, because of the success of another heart surgery, may be delayed for up to five years. Dr. Blaylock and Vivien Thomas have saved thousands of lives with their bravery, their knowledge, their work ethic, and willingness to break down barriers whetehr medical or racial.