Cuba Gooding, Jr in "Gifted Hands"
courtesy of TNT
”Gifted Hands” (TNT)

“Gifted Hands” is a Johnson and Johnson Spotlight Presentation airing on TNT this month. It stars Cuba Gooding, Jr and Kimberly Elise. They help present the true story of Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, a noted pediatric neurosurgeon who achieved fame and renown through hard work and discipline.

The film starts with Ben (Gooding) being contacted by a doctor in Germany concerning the birth of twins. They were born co-joined at the back of their heads. The doctor and the twins’ parents want Ben to perform the surgery to separate the two babies. In the past any effort of this type always resulted in the loss of at least one of the babies. The cause of the death(s) was loss of blood.

While Ben is considering whether or not to attempt the surgery, the film retraces his life as a youth. As a younger student Ben was almost failing in school. His mother Sonya (Elise) always told him he could do and be anything he wanted to be. He was only limited by his imagination. It also helped that she discovered he needed glasses.

Once Ben had glasses and took his mother’s drive to heart he began to do better and better in school. But he still had a violent temper that got him into trouble. This is where the movie is the weakest; it never explains how Ben conquered this flaw in his personality. 

Gooding is very good in the role of Ben, and it is nice to remember just why he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor several years back. Recently his roles in movies have been lightweight and not a challenge to his talent.

But as good as Gooding is, Elise is better. She gives shading and nuance to her role of Sonya. We see her pain as a single mother trying to do the best for her family though she has problems of her own with which to deal. Again the movie glosses over her psychological problems and doesn’t give information as to how she was made better.

These lapses in the script make the movie just a film about a doctor who does good. We never have the full story of how or why it happened. All we see is that it did, and that is not enough.

The acting is good but the story is not. It is still a program worth watching for the end result but more details about the past would have made the present more impressive.

“Gifted Hands” premieres on TNT, Saturday, February 7 at 8PM
 

 

 

 

 

©2009 Jackie K. Cooper

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