These days, a favourite pastime is binge-watching true crime on Netflix, as it’s such a morbid curiosity; learning about something horrific and trying to understand the psychology behind it. Fittingly, “The Good Nurse,” based on the novel of the same name by Charles Graeber, is coming to Netflix in late October to satiate the fans of true crime.
In the adaptation, a good-as-ever Jessica Chastain takes on the role of the titular “good nurse,” as Amy Loughren, going about her days raising her two children as a single mother, and struggling through a new diagnosis that could threaten her own job. In rolls Charles Cullen (with Eddie Redmayne stepping into his shoes), whose kindness and easy-going friendship feels like a godsend to Amy, especially as he graciously offers to help out with her children. Soon, Amy grows suspicious of Charlie as her patients begin dying at what should be standard hospital stays.
A Good Use of Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne
The initial element that stands out about “The Good Nurse” is its character work, especially through Amy. Showing her strength as a character to befriend Charlie and then learn that he may have to turn against him creates such a powerful, intense dynamic between the characters and in performances. As well, with Amy’s character having to be at the hospital for a full calendar year before receiving health care benefits works as a motivation for the character and one of the ways it shows the missteps of American healthcare.
One of the more prominent ways is the lack of cooperation from the hospital, even as they suspect these deaths are suspicious. That narrative thread comes with detectives on the case of the first death at Amy’s hospital, where Detectives Baldwin (Nnamdi Asomugha) and Braun (Noah Emmerich) are clued into an internal investigation by the hospital, led by Kim Dickens’ character, a whole seven weeks into the investigation. The red tape and bureaucracy is fascinating as it unfolds, seeing the hoops they put the officers through and the audience through, as it’s evident that the hospital, police, audience, and just about everyone knows there’s something up with Charlie.
Many Dynamics that Make this Film Just Work
And Redmayne plays the hell out of the role, effectively hitting the notes of charming and kind, with hints of anger and madness rarely bubbling to the surface. When they do, he plays them so right. Chastain has such great work as Amy, here, too, and their scenes are best together when she’s the one feeling fear and intensity on her side of the conversation, and Charlie might only have a sense that something’s not right. That’s one of the many dynamics that work best in “The Good Nurse,” in a film that enthralls and paints such a great picture of what really happened.
“The Good Nurse” is part of our continuing coverage of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.
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