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"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" premieres at 8 p.m. The amazing true story deserves an adaptation that does justice both to Henrietta Lacks, and to Skloot's achievement. It's a shame "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" wasn't adapted as a miniseries. In that scene, and many others, we feel the clock ticking on the movie's running time. We get a very hasty recounting of that in the movie, as Byrne rattles it off to a Morehouse School of Medicine doctor and professor (Ruben Santiago-Hudson) in hopes he'll put her in touch with the Lacks family. It was in that class where Skloot first heard about Henrietta Lacks, and where her drive to learn more about Lacks began. While a 16-year-old student at the Metropolitan Learning Center, Skloot took a for-credit class biology class at Portland Community College. ![]() The real Skloot grew up in Portland, and is the daughter of writer Floyd Skloot. It doesn't help that the script, by Wolfe, Peter Landesman and Alexander Woo, introduces Skloot with an awkward exposition dump. ![]() As for Byrne, she for some reason plays Skloot like an overgrown teenager, all toothy smiles, and polite dismay when she comes face to face with the rougher edges of members of the Lacks family. Even when she's at her best, it's hard not to think, "Oprah's doing a really good job," instead of empathizing with Deborah's pain. For so many years now, Winfrey herself has been a larger than life character. But, for all her passion, Winfrey is probably not the best choice to play Deborah. Winfrey throws herself into the role of Deborah, unhesitatingly showing the fear, self-sabotage, hope and hunger for connection that makes Deborah by far the most compelling character. That's something Deborah also wants to discover, as her mother died when Deborah was just a baby. Skloot insists she doesn't just want to write about science, but to tell the world who Henrietta Lacks was. Struggling with her own health issues, anxiety, and emotional mood swings, Deborah tries to believe that Skloot isn't another fast-buck artist who's going to rip off the family. HBO IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS MOVIEThe HBO movie focuses on the relationship between Skloot (played by Rose Byrne) and Lacks' daughter, Deborah (played by Winfrey.) While others in her family resent never having "made a dime" off the HeLa cells that helped to enrich others, Deborah's feelings are more tortured and personal. In addition to her cells, which continue to reproduce today, Henrietta Lacks left behind a husband and five children. HBO IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS SERIESThe HeLa cells, as they were known, represented a breakthrough whose impact can't be overstated.Ĭells from Henrietta Lacks became the foundation for a breathtaking series of developments, from the biomedical industry to research leading to treatments for such illnesses as polio, Parkinson's disease and leukemia. Those cells were cultured, and were found to be able to reproduce in a lab - the first time human cells had done that. Without her knowledge or consent, doctors harvested her cells. She died of cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore in 1951. Lacks was a 31-year-old African American woman who was descended from slaves. What happened to Henrietta Lacks, and those in her family, is powerfully, and at times painfully, dramatic. And though it's made with all the good intentions in the world, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" feels rushed and cramped. But the story of Henrietta Lacks is too big to be compressed into 90 minutes. ![]() ![]() Oprah Winfrey is an executive producer and the star. HBO IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS TVHBO has made a TV movie adaptation of Skloot's book, which comes bearing its own impressive credentials. It spent nearly six years on the New York Times bestseller list, and sparked countless discussions of race, class, poverty, science, and medical ethics. Skloot devoted 10 years to working on the book, which was published in 2010. The story former Portlander Rebecca Skloot told in her nonfiction book, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," was so remarkable it's not surprising that Skloot's book became a publishing phenomenon. ![]()
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