We like to think that scientific breakthroughs come from earnest and dedicated work, but history has numerous stories where the ethical lines were crossed in the name of progress, and that forms the heart of the true story drama, “The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks.”
Directed by George C. Wolfe (“Nights in Rodanthe“), and starring Oprah Winfrey and Rose Byrne, the story follows an African-American woman who teams with a young journalist to find out the truth about her mother’s role in groundbreaking genetic research. Here’s the official synopsis:
Oprah Winfrey and Rose Byrne star in this adaptation of Rebecca Skloot’s critically acclaimed, bestselling nonfiction book of the same name. The film tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman whose cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line. Told through the eyes of her daughter, Deborah Lacks (Winfrey), the film chronicles her search, with the help of journalist Rebecca Skloot (Byrne), to learn about the mother she never knew and understand how the unauthorized harvesting of Lacks’ cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs, changing countless lives and the face of medicine forever.
“The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks” airs on HBO on Saturday, April 22nd.