Review of Something the Lord Made (2004) by Convict S — 08 Dec 2006

[b][color=DarkOliveGreen]Well ...not everything can be great, now can it? Here we have Alan Rickman (in conjunction with my Rickmania state) and Mos Def.

Here's what I got, because with all the medial jargon, it was difficult to really "get" anything. Dr. Alfred Blalock and Dr. Vivian Thomas are the main characters. Vivian Thomas is a black man back in a time when most people thought that made a difference. Very gifted in medicine, however. Enter Dr. Blalock, who only sees a man who is very gifted in medicine.

Because of a bank closing? Thomas loses all his money and is unable to go to medical school, however Blalock takes him on as a lab assistant at Johns Hopkins (where Blalock teaches).

Let's go back, Thomas starts with Blalock as a janitor, and through his intelligence and natural gift for medicine becomes a trusted assistant at Vanderbilt in Nashville. With me so far? They work on dogs (which was accepted back then) and they are working on being able to help soldiers with shock. I think.

Blalock also believes it possible to operate on the heart (which up until now has been taboo in the medical field). More medical jargon I couldn't keep up with ...and off to Johns Hopkins where they meet Dr. Taurrig (Mary Stuart Masterson), and I think I mispelled the name. She works with "blue babies.".

Here's where I got lost. I think the blue baby syndrome is due to an inability of the heart to put enough oxygen in the blood, hence they suffocate. This has something to do with a small artery in the heart?

Anyway, Blalock, Taurrig and Thomas begin working to replicate this syndrome in a dog, which they do, and then begin working to find a surgical solution to it.

I think the best acting came from Mos Def who was excellent. Rickman, while not bad (naturally), sounds WEIRD when trying to do a Southern American accent. His natural baritone does not lend itself to the drawl we Southerners get over a lifetime. Glad he was born in England.

At any rate, Dr. Blalock, with the assistance of Taurrig and Thomas is credited with inventing the first shunt, an instrument used to open blocked arteries in the heart. I should know, my father has 9.

It's not a bad film, but for those of us who don't understand medical terminology, it's difficult to watch and stay interested simply because we don't really know what their doing. It probably should have been dumbed down (or explained) in regular English for people like myself who just can't follow it.

If you watch it, rent it, or I think it's on cable now. If your a medical student, BUY IT, you'll love it.

[/color][/b].