This was one awe inspiring movie. I watched it by chance because I saw Mos Def's name and I know his work from the Chappelle Show and The Italian Job, so I just wanted to see what his role was in this. Well, needless to say I was moved. I was moved by the movie, the acting, the directing, and mostly by the true historic nature of the movie. The movie was about an African-American man named Vivien Thomas (Mos Def) who, in the 1940's & 50's, made a huge contribution to the medical field. But the movie didn't just show Vivien Thomas the "lab technician", it went into Vivien Thomas' struggle as a black man in an all white environment of Johns Hopkins, and it showed his relationship with his family and his colleague Dr. Blaylock (Alan Rickman), which was just as important as showing his contribution to medical science.
This movie was not a corny attempt to depict an historical figure, it was well thought out and well done. As an African-American myself, it was a breath of fresh air to see a movie so well done about an African-American who has contributed so much but whom we hear about so little.
This movie was not a corny attempt to depict an historical figure, it was well thought out and well done. As an African-American myself, it was a breath of fresh air to see a movie so well done about an African-American who has contributed so much but whom we hear about so little.