Plot Summary
Ben Carson grew up disadvantaged and underprivileged, but his mother was determined that he and his brother would not be stuck with the street life. Thus, she guided them to read as many books as they get could their hands on, even she herself could not read and struggled with mental illness due to what was done to her in the past. Ben was his share of struggles as well, but he never forgot the God his mother had taught him about, and he was given great opportunities to become one of the best neurosurgeons of all time.
Production Quality (2.5 points)
As a well-funded made-for-TV production, Gifted Hands is very professionally done. Video quality, camera work, and audio quality are all on industry standard, and the soundtrack is historically relevant. Sets, locations, and props are very authentic and well-constructed, especially the historical and medical elements. There is very little negative to point out here, except for the fact that editing tends to be choppy due to the large amount of content in this film. However, this is only a blip on the radar and is not enough to keep this production from being great.
Plot and Storyline Quality (1 point)
The story of Ben Carson is an excellent true story to make a movie out of, but this rendition does not go as far as it could have. Granted, they had a lot of content to deal with, so the use of flashbacks and modern timeline intertwining together is effective. However, it’s likely that a longer runtime was needed to handle the full breadth of content better and to give this film the epic feel that it needed. While there is an excellent use of subtlety throughout instead of using a narration crutch, there still could have been some better sequences of dialogue to build the characters rather than the many montages that were included. There are also some abrupt cutoffs between Carson’s life segments without smooth enough transitions between then. Nonetheless, there is plenty of positive to note here as this realistic true story is brought to life to highlight many pertinent issues, as well as an important message of never giving up on God’s plans for you, even when you grow up disadvantaged. Thus, in the end, this will be an enjoyable film for many audiences.
Acting Quality (3 points)
Gifted Hands is very professionally cast with no obvious errors at all in this cast. Emotions are handled realistically, and line delivery is almost always on point. Each cast member is cast appropriately for their character. This is the way a cast should be assembled and coached.
Conclusion
This story idea had a lot going for it already, so it was only helped by great production and acting quality. However, a handful of minor lingering issues hold this movie back from being what it could have been. Movie plots centered around biopic and epic qualities need to live up to their fullest potential. Even though this film would have flourished in the right hands, it is still adequate and will find its place among most audiences.
Final Rating: 6.5 out of 10 points
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