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The Good Nurse Movie Review

The Good Nurse is a 2022 drama film directed by Tobias Lindholm and starring Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne. It is a flawed, but superbly acted movie.

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“They didn’t stop me“

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Nurse Amy Loughren is shocked when Charlie Cullen, one of her colleagues, is found responsible for the murder of dozens of patients over a period of sixteen years, across two states and nine hospitals, without being charged. All of this actually happened in real life and this man surely is one of the biggest serial killers in history when you take into consideration how many possible victims he killed. Thus, the story is hugely important, but the execution of it left a lot to be desired.

My main issue with this Netflix drama is the fact that, well, it is a drama. It should have been a crime thriller first and foremost. I get that they wanted to make it grounded in reality, but the opposite effect happened – it became overly slow and uninvolving. There were so many missed opportunities where the filmmakers failed to take action and execute a suspenseful scenario when there was a clear need for it. The end result is a frustratingly competent, solid movie that could have been so much greater.

The best reason to see it is for the performances. It stars two Oscar winners in the form of Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne, and both are absolutely phenomenal. Chastain deserved more attention for her work here as her Amy humanized the entire film and made it more emotional. She was wonderful here. But it is Redmayne who stole the show and should have been nominated for an Oscar for this chilly performance where he particularly excelled in acting out Cullen’s panic attacks and awkwardness. The final dialogue between the two was a superb showcase in excellent acting from both of these tremendous performers.

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The Good Nurse has strong dialogue throughout and it is very well made overall, but it suffers from a plain look to it with its cinematography being mediocre, score being forgettable and the pacing being all over the place with that first half being rather tedious. When the movie was great, it fired at all cylinders, but unfortunately those moments came too few and far in between as the rest was only serviceable. It really should have been a thriller.