Movie Review: Gifted Hands

Jerry and I stayed up too late last night to watch Gifted Hands. I’d planned to go to bed when he turned it on, but it pulled me in and I watched the whole thing. I feel glad that I did, because I have to say, it was probably one of the best movies I’ve ever seen in my life. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that big movie producers put out such junk while network producers can put out quality programs like this. Big budget isn’t as important as a good story.

Cuba Gooding Jr plays Ben Carson, the world-famous neurosurgeon who works at Johns Hopkins, but this story flashes back to when he was a young boy who thought he was dumb! (Jaishon Fisher, the young guy who acted as young Ben was really good. I’d love to see him in something else.) We see his classmates pick on him, we see his dismal report card (all Ds and Fs) and we see his amazing mother tell him that he is NOT dumb, and he is meant to do great things. That God has given him a great mind and he must use it and use it well. His mom cannot read and has a sad past, but still presses on, trusts God, and believes in her boys and prompts them to success.

I loved the faith aspect in the movie. It was very clear that this was a Christian family, and prayer is seen throughout it. It wasn’t just a “give God the glory” kind of faith; their faith was deep-seated. That means a lot to me.

Young Ben has a problem with his temper that gets him into trouble a couple times. The last time, in a miraculous way, he is spared from being a murderer, and runs home and cries out to God to remove his temper from him. He holds his Bible and sings a hymn to himself. It is a very touching scene that hubby and I both cried over. We felt this was probably the pivotal point in his life that God turned something that could have been horrendous into something good.

Because of Ben’s temper, there is a bit of violence in it, but nothing that would prevent me from allowing my children to see it. There is also blood (during surgery) that we plan to fast forward, mainly because our boys are very sensitive to things like that.

And because of the era Ben grew up in, there was a lot of bigotry. One teacher in particular made my mouth drop open with her arrogance, superiority complex and just plain rudeness. I honestly couldn’t believe another person could treat a child that way. Thankfully, her cruelty didn’t stop Ben at all, but maybe helped spur him on.

The beginning story returns in the end, with Ben’s personal life coinciding with his professional life in another miraculous way. I’ll only say it involves two sets of twin babies, since I don’t want to give too much away.

During the middle of the film, I said this had to be in my top five favorites of all time. But at the end, Jerry and I both agreed that it had to be #1. It was a beautiful testament of how a mother’s love can spur a child on to greatness, it is a story of faith and determination, and forgiveness and restoration. I honestly think EVERYONE should see this movie.

Since this IS Tune in Tuesday, here’s a clip:

So, how can you see the movie? Well, you can watch it on SpiritClips. It’s a great streaming service that has inspirational films (you can even get a week’s free trial right now!). You can also get the disc through Netflix’s disc program, you MIGHT be able to find it at your local redbox (it’s not available at mine), you can buy it on amazon, look on ebay, or check out your local Walmart.

This review was mine entirely. I was not paid to review the movie Gifted Hands. By the way, 5 out of 5 stars. 🙂

And I’ll leave you with another clip that we looked up after watching Gifted Hands. The *real* Ben Carson in his speech at the National Day of Prayer Breakfast. If you listen, you will find some true things that are mentioned in the movie.

God bless,
Jenn