Written by: Peter Silverman & Robert Caswell
Starring: Mos Def, Alan Rickman, Kyra Sedgwick, Gabrielle Union, Mary Stuart Masterson
Rating: [3/5]
Racism and prejudicial behavior serve as the ultimate act of cutting your nose to spite your face in the way a diversity of opinion and experience could help advance fields and the world. It serves as the intentional limitation of assistance, which not only holds everything back but in the world of cardiovascular medicine could prove fatal to individuals in desperate need of assistance.
Forming a partnership in Nashville, Alfred Blalock (Alan Rickman) and Vivien Thomas (Mos Def) work together with the former appreciating the contribution of the latter even if Thomas cannot physically assist because of his African-American identity. This leads to them working at Johns Hopkins where they collaborate on the breakthrough surgical procedure to fix a cardiovascular issue impacting little children.
Stories like the one found in Something the Lord Made plague American history in the way Black individuals have made significant contributions in the world, much of which has largely benefitted white people yet they needed to scratch and claw to even receive the opportunity. Something so frustrating to watch as a whole, but comes as part of the reckoning involved in learning the history of what transpired in this situation. This journey towards something groundbreaking makes for something intriguing to watch, but it all centers on a relationship built on respect between two men, which ultimately drives the film.
The relationship built between Blalock and Thomas goes beyond what they see on the outside but rather how they see each other as equals in the world of their work. With them serving as equal contributors to the work they do in this field, Blalock certainly has an easier path in making these discoveries because of the color of his skin. This includes the simple task of having the ability to come in through the front entrance of the building thus saving time. These little things chip away and to the credit to Blalock, he serves not only as an advocate for Thomas but also a defender of him in spaces where he needs support. These two men respect each other for what they can do and while they certainly have some tumultuous moments between them because of the inherent stress of what they seek to achieve, their connection never fully severs.
These two seek to fix the seemingly incurable dying Blue Babies where these babies battle with horrendous heart conditions threatening their lives. Their journey to get to the right technique in order to fix it involves some unsavory elements, which include utilizing stray dogs as their testing vehicles in order to get it right once they hopefully begin to successfully do it on human babies. This success of the process demonstrates not only their great collaboration as a whole but also the feat they have before them in ensuring they get this right. These two sit on the cutting edge of something no one has done before, thus continually raising the pressure for them to get it right.
As inspiring as the story may be, the way this feature gets filmed does have this simply adequate look as well as the simplistic manner in which it tackles the racism of the time. It certainly has those tropes one expects when it deals with the Black man who faces injustice everywhere he goes along with the well-meaning white guy who becomes his savior in attaining access. Whether or not this feature accurately describes just how valiantly Blalock fought to give Thomas could be questioned based on what occurred in real life, as films of this nature have a history of over-embellishing in order to give the white guy a bit more credit than deserved.
Certainly a well-meaning and competent film, Something the Lord Made displays quite the partnership and collaboration between these two men. It gets anchored by two good performances by the late great Alan Rickman and Mos Def as they detail the long road ahead of them professionally and for the latter, a fight to be respected as an equal because of his skin color. It has its inspirational elements for sure even if it at times gets a bit too cutesy but all this feature has to offer hits right on the surface in displaying every emotion it seeks to elicit. Ultimately something to appreciate and an easily watchable film that can be recommended to anyone in the mood for something historical.
Films with Josh 
