You want more science? Or more human connection?
After finishing the movie that is an adaptation from the book, I have to say I wasn’t dissatisfied. This film focuses far more on the portion of the book where the author finds Deborah Lacks and the crazy relationship that forms while they research Henrietta together. There is a smattering of the science still thrown in, but I actually liked the human interest focus of the movie, because there is a great emphasis in the novel on how Henrietta’s family was shoved aside and forgotten while all of the ground breaking science was happening regarding their mother’s cells. It only made sense for the movie to pay tribute to the loved ones who suffered while science flourished.
I thought the cast was scary because they were so well cast. The photos in the book almost perfectly match those who played them. And my hat’s off to Oprah for doing such a bang up job portraying Deborah Lacks. She was amazing at showing the hurt, paranoia, and excitement that the real Deborah goes through in the novel. I couldn’t have asked for more. Even though I loved the way the film was put together, I would still recommend reading the book because there is a lot of background story and explanation of the science that was left out; and that was really what I loved so much about the novel, that there was detailed science AND the cultivation of the family and history that Henrietta left behind. The movie was good folks, but per usual, the book was better.