The Good Nurse
Directed by Tobias Lindholm
★★★
Persons Shown
Noah Emmerich, Nnamdi Asomugha, Jessica Chastain
Description
The Good Nurse (2022). L to R: Noah Emmerich as Tim Braun, Nnamdi Asomugha as Danny Baldwin, and Jessica Chastain as Amy Loughren. Cr. JoJo Whilden / Netflix
Production Still Image
Credit
JoJo Whilden
Sometimes, I find it a little more difficult putting pen to paper when it comes to reviewing films that were based on true events. These stories are ones that need/should be told, but maybe not in the way the filmmaker’s present it. Which brings us to Tobias Lindholm’s latest, The Good Nurse.
Recalling a fascinating true story about Amy (Jessica Chastain), a nurse who falls ill and befriends a new colleague named Charlie (Eddie Redmayne). After his arrival, patients start mysteriously coding from a spike in insulin in their systems. With pressure from the police department and a morally blind hospital administration faking happy, Amy starts to wonder if the kind-hearted Charlie could have anything to do with the shady happenings between the hospital's walls.
The synopsis itself is enough to grab your attention, yet the almost boorish way Lindholm portrays the story is a disservice to the necessary build in tension that is required to effectively tell a story of this nature. Rather than slowly getting glimpses of who Redmayne’s character might be, he chooses to tell the audience who he is through character dialogue, instead of trusting them to put the pieces together themselves, resulting in a rather freshman way of storytelling.
Last year’s Academy Award winner for Best Actress, Jessica Chastain, puts in strong work as a well-lived character. We see the stress on her brow, the regret in her eyes of having to spend most nights away from home to provide for her daughters. Redmayne is better in his quieter moments, when he isn’t at a 10 (á la Jupiter Ascending), he can really capture a sense of turmoil. But when he isn’t restrained, everything starts to tear apart at the seams.
Overall, the film's rainy-day look contributes to its tonal banality. It’s lackadaisical pace and lack of grandeur keep it from holding the audience’s attention, which is a necessity when telling what is intended to be a psychological thriller. Luckily, Chastain, Noah Emmerich and Nnamdi Asomugha (as the investigators) keep this film from hitting the 9 o’clock time slot this Sunday on Lifetime.
