Overview
A groundbreaking medical partnership challenges the status quo and redefines the boundaries of surgical innovation.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- inspiring
- sincere
- tense
- inspirational viewing
- history discussion
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a compelling and moving biographical medical drama anchored by strong performances and its account of an overlooked African American medical pioneer.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The story follows Vivien Thomas's life and career as he helps develop bypass surgery for blue babies.
Thomas's surgical ingenuity and Blalock's medical authority combine to solve the blue-baby problem, while recognition remains uneven.
Thomas is excluded from public acclaim despite his central technical and surgical contributions, within the context of Jim Crow racism.
Blalock and Thomas experiment on dogs before attempting a pioneering operation on baby Eileen.
Films like Something the Lord Made, and why
The Doctor
shared biographical medical drama, racial injustice, and determined professional partnership
The Elephant Man
shared true-story drama about medical innovation, institutional barriers, and moral courage
Hidden Figures
shared inspirational historical drama centered on racial prejudice and achievement against entrenched systems
The Theory of Everything
shared serious, humanistic biography of overlooked contributors whose work changes medicine and society
Movie Details
- Director
- Joseph Sargent
- Release Date
- 2004-05-30
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Rating
- 8.0 / 10 (328)
Cast
- Alan Rickman
- Yasiin Bey
- Kyra Sedgwick
- Gabrielle Union
- Merritt Wever
- Charles S. Dutton
- Mary Stuart Masterson
- Irene Ziegler
- Luray Cooper
- Cliff McMullen
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Something the Lord Made about?
- A gifted Black laboratory technician and an arrogant white cardiologist forge a groundbreaking surgical partnership while confronting the racism that denies credit to the man whose hands make the breakthrough possible.
- What is Something the Lord Made like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Something the Lord Made as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Something the Lord Made violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Something the Lord Made as mild.
- What did critics think of Something the Lord Made?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a compelling and moving biographical medical drama anchored by strong performances and its account of an overlooked African American medical pioneer.
- Which films are like Something the Lord Made?
- Films with a similar feel include The Doctor, The Elephant Man, Hidden Figures, and The Theory of Everything.
- How long is Something the Lord Made?
- Something the Lord Made runs 110 minutes.
- Where can I watch Something the Lord Made?
- In United States, Something the Lord Made streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max.
