Something the Lord Made

Softly lit and deftly acted, this drama is a fine recuperation of an important historical figure who pioneered cardiac surgery and modern surgery techniques. Vivien Thomas may not enjoy appropriate credit for his contributions to the world, but Something the Lord Made tries to help change that by attributing most of the genius behind the world's first heart surgery to him and not the surgeon who performed the surgery, Dr. Alfred Blalock.

A nominee of dozens of awards, including many Emmy nominations, this television movie succeeds in the end largely because it mainly focuses on Thomas instead of Blalock (as a White hero/savior). He also isn't set up as a "White man who learns to overcome his racism," which is a plus. But the movie could've gone further in depicting the complexity of Dr. Alfred Blalock as someone not merely "not as racist" as everyone else. Indeed, before dying Blalock admits to "having regrets," but that's it. Instead of regrets, Blalock could've been defiant and not regretful at all, which might have made the story feel more accurate. Clearly, the film doesn't want to make a villain out of Blalock, whose portrait hangs influentially on the walls of Johns Hopkins (as does Thomas's), but lots of little representations like these make this film's recreation of 1940s America feel incredibly tepid, as Thomas surely historically endured much worse than what is shown here. Thomas's work, innovations, and brilliance saved and continues to save millions of lives, and it's a shame he isn't more widely recognized.