The Good Nurse is competently made, well acted, and effectively critiques the American healthcare system that prioritizes cash over patients' well-being. So what's the problem? Mainly, the film is less than the sum of its parts. All of its positive elements are severely diminished thanks to an unbelievably slow pace and a middling script.
Whatever the film's flaws are, Jessica Chastain is certainly not one of them. Her performance finds nuance and empathy in a character that's fairly one-note. If I'm being honest, I preferred her role here to her Best Actress-winning turn in The Eyes of Tammy Faye from last year. Redmayne also does good work here, until he goes over-the-top near the end to such a degree that I barely could stifle my laughs.
The main issue is that the plot is interesting and could fill a 90 minute movie, but at 2 hours it's just too thin. Because of this, the runtime is padded by a glacial pace that makes it very difficult to be engaged with the film as a whole. I'm not opposed to a slower vibe per se, but only when it works for the movie instead of against it. But here, it's unnecessary and only detracts from the drama by pulling you out of it. This problem is made all the stranger by how rushed the ending feels with a solution that seems far too simple and contrived. I'm not even totally sure how and why the movie is this slow, since characterization and any motivation for the crimes are lackluster.
Speaking of which, it's really strange how little development any of these people get. One of Chastain's character's main struggles is completely dropped by the last act and is only mentioned in passing in end text. Redmayne barely has a character to begin with, especially considering that he is the monster the whole movie is based around. Their acting is able to make up for some of it, but unfortunately not enough of it.
Should you watch this movie? If you are interested in the real-life case and like Jessica Chastain or Eddie Redmayne, then go for it. Otherwise, there's nothing separating this from the deluge of true crime movies and shows that are currently all-the-rage on Netflix.
Final Score: 62/100.
Whatever the film's flaws are, Jessica Chastain is certainly not one of them. Her performance finds nuance and empathy in a character that's fairly one-note. If I'm being honest, I preferred her role here to her Best Actress-winning turn in The Eyes of Tammy Faye from last year. Redmayne also does good work here, until he goes over-the-top near the end to such a degree that I barely could stifle my laughs.
The main issue is that the plot is interesting and could fill a 90 minute movie, but at 2 hours it's just too thin. Because of this, the runtime is padded by a glacial pace that makes it very difficult to be engaged with the film as a whole. I'm not opposed to a slower vibe per se, but only when it works for the movie instead of against it. But here, it's unnecessary and only detracts from the drama by pulling you out of it. This problem is made all the stranger by how rushed the ending feels with a solution that seems far too simple and contrived. I'm not even totally sure how and why the movie is this slow, since characterization and any motivation for the crimes are lackluster.
Speaking of which, it's really strange how little development any of these people get. One of Chastain's character's main struggles is completely dropped by the last act and is only mentioned in passing in end text. Redmayne barely has a character to begin with, especially considering that he is the monster the whole movie is based around. Their acting is able to make up for some of it, but unfortunately not enough of it.
Should you watch this movie? If you are interested in the real-life case and like Jessica Chastain or Eddie Redmayne, then go for it. Otherwise, there's nothing separating this from the deluge of true crime movies and shows that are currently all-the-rage on Netflix.
Final Score: 62/100.