I liked this film. I don't care about reading the book, as several reviewers recommended. Books are one form of media; film another form. I don't expect them to be the same.
I thought the acting is this film was very good, in some cases excellent. Oprah Winfrey is excellent here, and although I have long been impressed with her as a media mogul, I haven't always been impressed with her acting. To me, she proves herself here. Rose Byrne as the White girl researching the story of Lacks is very effective. Courtney B. Vance -- a wonderful actor -- is wasted here. Same for Leslie Uggams, although I enjoyed seeing her. The rest of the actors, none of whom I was very familiar with (although I did recognize several), were also quite good.
And yet I give this film only a "6". Why? Very simple (and I know I'm not the first to point this out). I didn't get to know much about Henrietta Lacks!!!!! The story is about Oprah Winfrey's character. The movie is still good, but the title character is almost secondary to the film. That doesn't make sense to me.
So to me, to use a baseball analogy, the film get a hit to second base, but there's no home run. Worth watching, but disappointing.
I thought the acting is this film was very good, in some cases excellent. Oprah Winfrey is excellent here, and although I have long been impressed with her as a media mogul, I haven't always been impressed with her acting. To me, she proves herself here. Rose Byrne as the White girl researching the story of Lacks is very effective. Courtney B. Vance -- a wonderful actor -- is wasted here. Same for Leslie Uggams, although I enjoyed seeing her. The rest of the actors, none of whom I was very familiar with (although I did recognize several), were also quite good.
And yet I give this film only a "6". Why? Very simple (and I know I'm not the first to point this out). I didn't get to know much about Henrietta Lacks!!!!! The story is about Oprah Winfrey's character. The movie is still good, but the title character is almost secondary to the film. That doesn't make sense to me.
So to me, to use a baseball analogy, the film get a hit to second base, but there's no home run. Worth watching, but disappointing.