Review & Giveaway - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer

Now available on for Digital Download from HBO Home Entertainment is The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks. Written & directed by George C. Wolfe, the film stars Oprah Winfrey, Rose Byrne, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Courtney B. Vance, Reg E. Cathey, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and Leslie Uggams.

Based on the book of the same name by Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks follows writer Rebecca Skloot (played by Rose Byrne), who seeks out to learn the history of Henrietta Lacks, an African American whose cancer cells were the source of the HeLa, the first immortalized cell line. Rebecca seeks out Henrietta's children in the hope of letting her write about their mother.

Upon meeting Henrietta's emotionally-drained daughter, Deborah Lacks (played by Oprah Winfrey), Rebecca learns the Lack family never authorized the harvesting of Henrietta's cancer cells back in 1951. Over the years, scientists have used the cancerous cells in medical research and for commercial purposes.

Together, Deborah and Rebecca chronicles Henrietta's life, leading them to understand the meaning beyond her death.

Final Thoughts: I recall seeing a few commercials for the movie, but it just didn't appeal to me at time. After hearing good things about the film, I decided to watch it on Digital a few nights ago. I consider myself a science illiterate, so I had never even heard about the HeLa cell line before watching the film.

This is a drama, so the film has several drawn-out moments, but none that were too boring for me. While I've never been a big of fan of Oprah Winfrey, she does give a good performance as Deborah Lacks. Rose Byrne does an alright job playing the real-life author Rebecca Skloot, but there were moments where her performance felt a little odd.

Overall, I enjoyed watching The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and I recommend it to others.