![]() ![]() It’s powerful enough, but there’s so much more to the story, it probably would have worked better as a full series. So when freelance journalist Skloot (Rose Byrne, struggling a bit to keep up with Winfrey in full flow) tries to bring Henrietta’s story to wider public attention, she and Del must travel down some dusty and contentious family roads. Del’s a volatile character who is desperate to fill in the gaps about her mother’s life. Oprah Winfrey plays Deborah Lacks, daughter of the eponymous Henrietta. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks IMDb 6.3 2017 93 min An African-American woman becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs when her cells are used to create the first immortal human cell line in the early 1950s. Lacks died without permission having been granted for her cells to be used, and her family were never compensated, or told what had been done until decades later.īased on the bestselling book of the same title by Rebecca Skloot about a woman whose cells changed medical history, this HBO drama is undoubtedly well made, but somehow lacks true firepower, given its sobering subject matter. Letting people and events speak for themselves, Skloot tells a rich, resonant tale of modern science, the wonders it can perform and how easily it can exploit society's most vulnerable people.In the early 1950s, scientists at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore discovered that cancer cells from a tumour removed from an African American woman, Henrietta Lacks, were found to reproduce indefinitely – and are still being used in medical research today. Writing in plain, clear prose, Skloot avoids melodrama and makes no judgments. Skloot's portraits of Deborah, her father and brothers are so vibrant and immediate they recall Adrian Nicole LeBlanc's Random Family. What Skloot so poignantly portrays is the devastating impact Henrietta's death and the eventual importance of her cells had on her husband and children. These cells have aided in medical discoveries from the polio vaccine to AIDS treatments. Aided by writer Rebecca Skloot, Deborah Lacks. They spawned the first viable, indeed miraculously productive, cell line known as HeLa. In 1951, cancerous cells from Henrietta Lacks lead to breakthroughs that change the face of medicine forever. Without her knowledge, doctors treating her at Johns Hopkins took tissue samples from her cervix for research. Watch The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, English Movie directed by George C. Henrietta Lacks was a 31-year-old black mother of five in Baltimore when she died of cervical cancer in 1951. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017). Science journalist Skloot makes a remarkable debut with this multilayered story about "faith, science, journalism, and grace." It is also a tale of medical wonders and medical arrogance, racism, poverty and the bond that grows, sometimes painfully, between two very different women Skloot and Deborah Lacks sharing an obsession to learn about Deborah's mother, Henrietta, and her magical, immortal cells. A fascinating, harrowing, necessary book.’ – Hilary Mantel, Guardian ‘No dead woman has done more for the living. Balancing the beauty and drama of scientific discovery with dark questions about who owns the stuff our bodies are made of, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is an extraordinary journey in search of the soul and story of a real woman, whose cells live on today in all four corners of the world. Rebecca Skloot’s fascinating account is the story of the life, and afterlife, of one woman who changed the medical world forever. Some platforms allow you to rent The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for a limited time or purchase the movie and download it to your device. Yet Henrietta’s family did not learn of her ‘immortality’ until more than twenty years after her death, with devastating consequences. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is available to watch, stream, download and buy on demand at HBO Max, Hulu, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube VOD and Vudu. Born a poor black tobacco farmer, her cancer cells – taken without her knowledge – became a multimillion-dollar industry and one of the most important tools in medicine. Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. N ow an HBO film starring Oprah Winfrey & Rose Byrne. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a fascinating mix of memoir and science, telling the story of how one woman’s cells have saved countless lives. ![]()
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