| The Good Nurse | |
|---|---|
 Official release poster | |
| Directed by | Tobias Lindholm |
| Screenplay by | Krysty Wilson-Cairns |
| Based on | The Good Nurse byCharles Graeber |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Jody Lee Lipes |
| Edited by | Adam Nielsen |
| Music by | Biosphere |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 121 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Good Nurse is a 2022 Americanthriller film starringJessica Chastain andEddie Redmayne, about the serial killerCharles Cullen and the fellow nurse who suspects him. The film is based onthe 2013 true-crime book of the same name byCharles Graeber. It is directed byTobias Lindholm and written byKrysty Wilson-Cairns. The film also starsNnamdi Asomugha,Kim Dickens, andNoah Emmerich.
The Good Nurse had its world premiere at the47th Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2022, and was released inselect theaters on October 19, before streaming onNetflix on October 26, 2022.[2] The film received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise towards Redmayne's performance for which he was nominated for aGolden Globe Award, aBritish Academy Film Award, and aScreen Actors Guild Award.
In 2003,Amy Loughren is a single mother and nurse working in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Parkfield Memorial Hospital inNew Jersey, who is suffering fromcardiomyopathy, unbeknownst to anyone at the hospital, and fears dismissal. Having no health insurance, Amy has no other choice than to remain working for another four months, in order to acquire the insurance to afford aheart transplant. The hospital recruits experienced nurseCharles Cullen to help her work the night shifts, and they quickly become good friends. Charlie discovers her condition and empathetically agrees to keep it a secret.
When anelderly patient named Ana Martínez, who was being looked after by Amy and Charlie, suddenly dies, the hospital's administrative board contacts the state police, represented by detectives Danny Baldwin and Tim Braun. However, the board, led by risk manager Linda Garran, quickly downplays it, claiming the death was unintentional and that the reason for reporting it was simply to abide by health protocol. Baldwin is immediately wary of the situation, noting they reported Martinez's death seven weeks after its occurrence after the body had been cremated. He fixates on Charlie and discovers he had been convicted of minor charges in 1995. They question Amy who notices thatinsulin had been administered to Martinez, demonstrated by her decreased C peptide levels, despite her being a non-diabetic. She is questioned about Charlie's character but Amy is quick to challenge them. She doesn't want to be involved in the situation and clearly trusts her colleague.
Baldwin and Braun attempt to contact the hospitals where Charlie had worked previously but none are willing to cooperate. Parkfield finally shares its investigation with the police, but Baldwin notices that it is fragmentary, leading him to snap at Garran, causing him and Braun to be banned from the hospital. Meanwhile, after Kelly Anderson, another ICU patient suffers a seizure and inexplicably dies, Amy discovers insulin had also been administered to her the night before. Suspicious, she contacts an old friend, Lori Lucas, a fellow nurse who worked with Charlie at a different hospital. Lori reveals that during Charlie's employment, the ward he was assigned to dealt with numerous sudden deaths, with the discovery of insulin in several of them. Shocked, Amy raids Parkfield's storage, discovering holes in severalIV bags, indicating they had been contaminated. During her discovery, she collapses and ends up in the ER.
Finally convinced of Charlie's complicity, she alerts the detectives. They convince Kelly's husband to exhume her body in order to perform anautopsy; it reveals a dual combination of insulin anddigoxin led to her death. Meanwhile, Garran fires Charlie under the pretext of minor discrepancies found in his résumé. In an attempt to entice Charlie into disclosing his actions, Baldwin and Braun have Amy arrange a meeting with him, but he reacts aggressively when she asks about his dismissal from Parkfield.
The police arrest and hold him, but are unable to get him to confess on record. Unwilling to see him released, Amy volunteers to talk to Charlie; she has a warm conversation with him, and asks that he tells the truth. After some deliberation, Charlie confesses, stating that he simply "did it". When Amy asks why, he says, "they didn't stop me."
A textual epilogue reveals Charlie was sentenced to 18 consecutive life sentences for the murders of 29 patients but that the actual number could be as high as 400. Amy underwent the heart surgery she needed, and now lives inFlorida with her daughters and grandchildren.
The film was announced in November 2016, withTobias Lindholm set to direct andKrysty Wilson-Cairns writing the screenplay adaptingCharles Graeber's 2013 non-fiction bookThe Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder.Lionsgate was initially set to distribute.[3] In August 2018,Jessica Chastain andEddie Redmayne entered negotiations to star in the film.[4]
No further development on the film was announced until February 2020. Chastain and Redmayne were confirmed to star, with Lionsgate no longer involved.[5]Netflix entered negotiations to buy the film's worldwide distribution rights for $25 million.[6]
In March 2021,Nnamdi Asomugha was added to the cast, withNoah Emmerich andKim Dickens joining in April.[7][8]
Filming began on April 12, 2021, inStamford, Connecticut.[9]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 74% of 168 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "The Good Nurse is hobbled by stilted dialogue and unrealistic story elements, but those issues are offset by strong work from a pair of talented leads."[10]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 65 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[11]
FilmmakerThomas Vinterberg praised the film, calling it "an accomplished, rigorous and gripping experience."[12]
The Good Nurse was the most-viewed film on Netflix on October 27, 2022, the day after its release. In its first week, it debuted at number one on Netflix's Top 10 with 68.31 million viewing hours with it being Top 10 in 93 countries.[13][14] The next week, it dropped to second, behindEnola Holmes 2, having received 36.78 million viewing hours.[15]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Globe Awards | January 10, 2023 | Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | Eddie Redmayne | Nominated | [16] |
| Greater Western New York Film Critics Association Awards | December 30, 2022 | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | [17] | |
| Satellite Awards | February 11, 2023 | Best Actress – Motion Picture | Jessica Chastain | Nominated | [18] |
| Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | Eddie Redmayne | Nominated | |||
| British Academy Film Awards | February 19, 2023 | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Nominated | [19] | |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | February 26, 2023 | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role | Nominated | [20] |
