This movie was heartwarming, inspiring, touching. Mos Def did a brilliant job as did Alan Rickman. I'm not quite sure why it was only made for TV, i guess because it's not garbage like most of what is out there at 9 dollars a ticket! Anyway a must see for those that can catch it on cable, I suggest you tivo it!

There is much to be said about character and Vivian is a man of character that stuck through it all, with no recognition no lights no awards, nothing. Yet through all the hardship and obvious racism he made his mark in history!

I applaud him... Kudos!

And he did it with such grace!

Just about everything HBO Films produces is excellent, but this film rises into the higher levels of the stratosphere. Everything excellent about filmmaking can be found in this superb production. The story is one of the most compelling pieces of drama one could ever ask for. Medical history, black history --you name it --this film has it, and weaves a fact-based plot equal to any docu-drama ever made.

Needless to say Rickman and Def captivate us throughout the film--their regrets, frustrations, bonding, harmony and abrasiveness found between any two historic collaborators. What they achieved is one of the most significant advances in medicine ever! And the poignant life of Vivian Thomas who finally receives his just rewards--ah, the stuff that makes us all marvel at his steadfastness, his honor, his talent and pride!

This film will garner many rewards and will deserve every one of them. Hats off to the geniuses at HBO!

Every once in a while, HBO produces a tv-movie that doesn't feel like a tv-movie. Something the Lord Made feels like a movie you'd go see in the theaters. Hailed and given awards and nominations, this medical drama deserves the very high praise.

Mos Def stars as a young black man in the 1930s who dreams of medical school but can't afford to go. He gets a job as a janitor in a research lab at Johns Hopkins University under the demanding but brilliant doctor Alan Rickman. As Alan learns of his interest, knowledge, and capabilities, he promotes him to lab assistant and makes him a joint partner in his research. Of course, since this takes place in the South in the 1930s, there are quite a bit of racial tensions by hospital workers and fellow doctors who see a white doctor talking to his black assistant as an equal. When Mos Def first enters the hospital wearing his white coat, everyone he passes stares at him in shock, and when he follows his colleague into the "whites only" bathroom to finish their conversation, the other men leave the room.

Kyra Sedwick and Gabrielle Union play the two leads' wives, and since the movie takes place over many decades, it's fun to see them with age makeup on. For the medically-inclined audience members, there are several operations shown in detail to explain the type of breakthrough research the real people did. If you've never heard of Dr. Blalock or Vivien Thomas, you'll find the work they did incredibly interesting, and if you do know your history, you'll find a very touching story even more heartwarming. There's so much that stands out in this movie, it's difficult to highlight just one scene as the finest. You'll also get to hear Alan Rickman put on a Southern accent, and see a surprisingly effective performance from Mos Def.

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to graphic medical procedures and an upsetting scene involving an animal, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.