The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

"Discover what you are made of"

2017 1h 33m EN

😐

6.3

MID

🍅

69%

FRESH

⭐

6.4

IMDB

★6.3TMDB · 114🍅69%Rotten Tomatoes★6.4IMDB · 4,079

DramaHistoryTV Movie

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An African-American woman becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs when her cells are used to create the first immortal human cell line in the early 1950s.

“Discover what you are made of”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Oprah Winfrey
Deborah Lacks
Rose Byrne
Rebecca Skloot
Renée Elise Goldsberry
Henrietta Lacks
Reg E. Cathey
Zakariyyah
Courtney B. Vance
Sir Lord Keenan Coefield
Rocky Carroll
Sonny Lacks
Leslie Uggams
Sadie
Reed Birney
Dr. George Gey

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: George C. Wolfe
Writers: George C. Wolfe, Peter Landesman, Alexander Woo
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 9 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by George C. Wolfe, shot by Sofian El Fani. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Branford Marsalis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Aaron Yanes shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Oprah Winfrey and Rose Byrne and Renée Elise Goldsberry carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Discover what you are made of".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt5686132 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

George C. Wolfe directs. Sofian El Fani behind the camera. Branford Marsalis scores. Aaron Yanes cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 9 years ago.
2Directed by George C. Wolfe, shot by Sofian El Fani. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Branford Marsalis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Aaron Yanes shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Oprah Winfrey and Rose Byrne and Renée Elise Goldsberry carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Discover what you are made of".
7IMDB entry: tt5686132 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sofian El Fani
Original score: Branford Marsalis
Editing: Aaron Yanes
Production design: Caroline Hanania
Costume design: Paul Tazewell
Makeup / hair: Jerome Allen
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017)
Rotten Tomatoes: 69% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 6.4/10 · 4,079 votes
MPAA: TV-MA

Awards

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. 4 wins & 19 nominations total

Also by

George C. Wolfe

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Selected frames

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2018-02-04
★ 6/10
You will know everything, but Henrietta Lacks! It's a good biographical drama, but the only problem is its not what exactly the title says. If you believed to learn about Henrietta Lacks and went to see it, you might end disappointingly. Because she was the only topic of the story, not the actual story, except a few glimpses. It is like you watched 'Infamous' or 'Capote', instead of 'In Cold Blood'. That's what like this film. Yet not a bad film. A writer pursuing the family members of a person who lived in the mid 20th century, because she was a medical phenomenon. Her cells used to treat cancer, despite she had died of cancer, leaving her young kids behind. Her descendants not aware of how things work in the medical research, only misguided by others, finally, set to discover the truth themselves about all the fuss. It was nominated for the Emmy, but did not win. Oprah was okay, but Rose Byrne impressed me. Except a misleading title, it is a good film, but I really wanted/want to know the Henrietta Lacks. That's funny, because they have told us an unnecessary story. I hope somebody would make a film about actual Henrietta Lacks! 5.5/10

Production companies