‘They didn’t stop me…’
Going to the hospital has become a nightmarish scenario in this country in recent times due to the chronic underfunding of the NHS. In America, the healthcare system has its own, albeit different, issues. This, coupled with the fact that there are numerous real-life examples of healthcare workers purposefully murdering those that are supposedly in their care, ensures that there was bound to be a film exploring this area at some point. Luckily, that film is The Good Nurse…
Amy Loughren (Jessica Chastain) is a compassionate and diligent nurse struggling to overcome a chronic heart issue. When Charlie Cullen (Eddie Redmayne) begins working at Amy’s hospital, he also takes an active role in helping her through her illness and caring for her children. Following the unexplained death of a patient, however, it appears that Charlie harbours a dark past.
Based on a chilling true story garnered from Charles Graeber’s book, The Good Nurse is a harrowing two-hander featuring two actors at the top of their game. Redmayne essentially has to play two roles here. The sweet, good-natured ally that Amy sees and the harbinger of death that his patients see. He plays both sides of that particular coin to perfection. Chastain plays off him with a mixture of wide-eyed naivety in the first half and steely-eyed determination in the second, and the pair of them together make for a formidable partnership.
Director Tobias Lindholm is better known as a writer having penned both The Hunt and Another Round, but he does a good job of bringing this story to life here, with the hospital scenes shot in shadow to reflect the darkness of Cullen’s crimes. As with the similarly themed Dr. Death, The Good Nurse also brings home how much the healthcare system is open to abuse. The final coda at the end of the film explaining the extent of Cullen’s crimes is genuinely shocking, and if media like this can help to prevent further tragedy, as well as providing high-quality entertainment, then it should be treasured.
The Good Nurse is not a pleasant watch, but it is a thrilling and thought-provoking film that will appeal to everyone.