REVIEW: THE GOOD NURSE

4/5

In Darkness and in Health. 

121 Mins. Starring: Jessica Chastain, Eddie Redmayne, Nnamdi Asomugha, Kim Dickens & Noah Emmerich. Director: Tobias Lindholm. 

Before winning last year's Academy Award for 'The Eyes Of Tammy Faye', in an Oscars that should be remembered for things like that and her stirring speech, Jessica Chastain was already the Best Actress. 'The Tree Of Life'. 'The Help'. 'Zero Dark Thirty'. The out-of-this-world 'The Martian' and 'Interstellar' duo like co-star Matt Damon. 'A Most Violent Year' with Oscar Isaac. A most violent clown in 'It Chapter Two'. The year (2017) where she could have won three for the Academy ('The Zookeepers Wife', 'Miss Sloane' and 'Molly's Game'), but should have at least garnered a nomination, even though justice is now served. Jessica was even Emmy ready last year, reuniting with Oscar for HBO's 'Scenes From A Marriage'. But after 'Tammy' comes the eyes that see the truth, as she is 'The Good Nurse' on Netflix. Scrubbing up and streaming now. 

Based on the doctor reports by the book of Charles Graeber ('The Good Nurse: A True Story Of Medicine, Madness and Murder'), Chastain compellingly plays a real hero. Amy Loughren. More than a good nurse, but a great one. A workaholic single mother with a rare and life-threatening heart condition who helped the police blow the whistle on a nurse who killed up to it's believed 400 patients, whilst many hospitals just passed the chart. Not only did Loughren do this, but she also showed compassion to someone who started out as a friend as well as a colleague. All whilst facing a tirade of trolls on Twitter and the like, who with no medical or situational experience made it their keyboard given "right" to slander her name. Primarily because they don't believe her and instead trusted the man in this situation, who no one else (especially those in the know) was courageous enough to speak up about. Except this brave one, who risked more than her friendship to do so. But the safety of her and her family. Let alone the job she needed to keep for more than just a roof over her head, but a hospital bed she could get treatment in once her medical insurance came through, months later. It's a cruel, clinically cold world, but Amy fought through it all to find truth, her and her family's own salvation and above all and what's more, what is right. 

Jessica Chastain plays Amy Loughren with gracious grit and revered respect for 'R' director Tobias Lindholm's real and raw human drama that doesn't take the humanity out of this real life horror, despite getting surgical with how this film rolls up its scrubs and gets down to the business of the gory details in writing and what is laid out on the table. Fresh off her 'Faye' win, this fall, Chastain can count on another nomination. Whilst the guilty nurse in question is played by another Oscar winner in 'The Danish Girl', Eddie Redmayne. The 'Fantastic Beasts' franchise face is on the case of another conflicted and complicated performance here, which he brings nuance and gravitas to. Accented for the great Brit, like he was in 'The Trial Of The Chicago 7', also for Netflix. An ever-ready Eddie always has something about him and Redmayne brings a peculiar potency to his serial killer character here, but also a respect to the victims in this harrowing true tale, because this is real-life after all. Far from the hills of Hollywood. But down to earth, like scrubbed on the floor next to the good nurse, sweating it out after losing a patient...by his hand. 

The 'Grey's Anatomy' of this medical drama can be chart held-up next to the original and best 'ER' out of Chicago when it comes to x-raying this detailed drama genre. But when dedicated cops Nnamdi Asomugha (the former Oakland Raiders NFL star who steals the show here like the ball and shuts down all corners) and veteran Noah Emmerich (the Critics Choice Awards winning FBI agent of 'The Americans' who is always as understated as he is underrated) get on the case this medical procedure feels like a 'Gone Girl' investigation...in a good way. Speaking of 'Gone Girl', good 'Gone' cop and 'The Blind Side' actress Kim Dickens brings even more elements to this narrative, keeping some in the dark whilst trying to run and right a tight ship through all this mess.

Biosphere provides a clinically cool soundtrack to underscore this drama that was a hit at the Toronto International Film Festival like you knew the Norwegian always would. The callous coldness of a cruel nurse is offset by the outstanding will of a woman who brings purity to her profession and a hell of a heaven sent bedside manner, whilst the other whose motivation remains unknown needs to mind more than just his. In this dark night of the soul, it's like how Michael Caine's Alfred said of Heath Ledger's Joker, "some men just want to watch the world burn." But thanks to the fire inside of Amy Loughren, the flames of his destruction that ran through hospitals in America were put out. All from this nurse. For good. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Further Filming: 'The Eyes Of Tammy Faye', 'Gone Girl', 'ER'.