Like many biochemistry undergraduates, I came across the HeLa cell line as part of my studies alongside a brief description of where they had originated - a woman called Helen Lane who had had cancer. They were robust and functionally immortal - and so ideal for cloning and testing therapeutics for humans. I wondered about Helen and what had happened to her.It turns out I wasn't alone in wondering - and the movie of the resulting bestselling book, details the life of the woman behind the cells while covering issues of racial and class prejudice, privacy, mental illness, medical ignorance and consent.
The story is told with a mixture of flashbacks to Henrietta's life combined with contemporary testimony about her and the impact she has made on her family's life. Winfrey is superb as a woman determined to give her mother a voice while struggling with her own illness and demons. But the truth is that she has plenty of competition in the acting stakes from the rest of the cast.
Overall, it's a difficult, but profoundly moving and consequential watch.
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