''The Good Nurse'' is a 2022 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

, starring

Jessica Chastain Jessica Michelle Chastain (born March 24, 1977) is an American actress and producer. Known for primarily starring in films with feminist themes, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. ''Time'' ...

and

Eddie Redmayne Edward John David Redmayne (; born 6 January 1982) is an English actor. Known for his roles in biopics and blockbusters, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Olivier Awards. He ...

, about Amy Loughren, a night nurse, who suspects that her co-worker Charles Cullen is a serial killer. The film is based on the 2013 true-crime book of the same name by Charles Graeber. It is directed by

Tobias Lindholm Tobias Lindholm (born 5 July 1977) is a Danish screenwriter and film director. His 2015 directed film ''A War'' was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In addition to ''A War'', he has directed the films '' R'' (2010), ...

and written by Krysty Wilson-Cairns. The film also stars

Nnamdi Asomugha Nnamdi Asomugha ( ; born July 6, 1981) is an American actor, producer and former football cornerback. He played college football for the University of California, Berkeley, and was drafted in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Oakland ...

Kim Dickens Kimberly Jan Dickens (born June 18, 1965) is an American actress. Her film debut was in the 1995 comedy film ''Palookaville''. Dickens played lead roles in the films '' Truth or Consequences, N.M.'' (1997), ''Zero Effect'' (1998) and '' Mercury R ...

, and

Noah Emmerich Noah Nicholas Emmerich (born February 27, 1965) is an American actor and director who is best known for his roles in films such as '' Beautiful Girls'' (1996), '' The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Frequency'' (2000), ''Miracle'' (2004), '' Little Child ...

. ''The Good Nurse'' had its world premiere at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

on September 11, 2022, and was released in select cinemas on October 19, 2022, before its streaming release on October 26, 2022, by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. The film received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise towards Redmayne's performance for which he was nominated for the

BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Best Actor in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film. Actors of all n ...

, the

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture is a Golden Globe Award that was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year. The formal ...

, and the

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest acting achievements in film. Winners and nominees ...

Plot

In 2003, Amy Loughren is a single mother and nurse working in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Parkfield Memorial Hospital in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, who is suffering from

cardiomyopathy Cardiomyopathy is a group of diseases that affect the heart muscle. Early on there may be few or no symptoms. As the disease worsens, shortness of breath, feeling tired, and swelling of the legs may occur, due to the onset of heart failure. A ...

, unbeknownst to anyone at the hospital, and fears dismissal. Due to 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 a

heart transplant A heart transplant, or a cardiac transplant, is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease when other medical or surgical treatments have failed. , the most common proce ...

. The hospital recruits experienced nurse Charles 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 an

elderly Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

patient named Ana Martinez, 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 that

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...

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. 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, 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 several IV 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 an

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

; it reveals a dual combination of insulin and

digoxin Digoxin (better known as Digitalis), sold under the brand name Lanoxin among others, is a medication used to treat various heart conditions. Most frequently it is used for atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and heart failure. Digoxin is on ...

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, "Because 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 in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

with her daughters and grandchildren.

Cast

as Amy Loughren, a single mother and nurse at Parkfield Memorial Hospital, who is also a

patient. *

as Charles Cullen, an experienced nurse who is new to Parkfield's medical staff, and secretly a prolific serial killer. *

as Danny Baldwin, a state police detective assigned to investigate the case of mysterious deaths at Parkfield. *

as Tim Braun, another state police detective and Baldwin's partner, also assigned to investigate to the Parkfield case. *

as Linda Garran, Parkfield's risk manager and former nurse, who seeks to preserve Parkfield's reputation in the wake of the deaths. *

Malik Yoba Abdul-Malik Kashie Yoba (born September 17, 1967) is an American actor. He is known for his starring role as NYPD Detective J. C. Williams on the Fox police drama ''New York Undercover'' and as Yul Brenner in the film '' Cool Runnings''. ...

as Sam Johnson, the local police chief and superior officer to Braun and Baldwin. *

Maria Dizzia Maria Teresa Dizzia (born December 29, 1974) is an American actress. Dizzia was nominated for the 2010 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in ''In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)''. Early life ...

as Lori, a nurse who is a friend and former coworker of Amy's.

Production

The film was announced in November 2016, with

set to direct and Krysty Wilson-Cairns writing the screenplay adapting Charles Graeber's 2013 non-fiction book '' The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder''.

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

was initially set to distribute. In August 2018,

and

entered negotiations to star in the film. No further development on the film was announced until February 2020. Chastain and Redmayne were confirmed to star, with Lionsgate no longer involved.

entered negotiations to buy the film's worldwide distribution rights for $25 million. In March 2021,

was added to the cast, with

and

joining in April. Filming began on April 12, 2021, in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

Reception

''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. The next week, it dropped to second, behind ''

Enola Holmes 2 ''Enola Holmes 2'' is a 2022 mystery film and the sequel to the 2020 film '' Enola Holmes'', both of which star Millie Bobby Brown as the title character, the teenage sister of the already-famous Victorian-era detective Sherlock Holmes. The fi ...

'', having received 36.78 million viewing hours.

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Good Nurse 2022 crime drama films 2020s American films 2020s English-language films 2020s serial killer films American films based on actual events American crime drama films American serial killer films Crime films based on actual events Drama films based on actual events English-language Netflix original films FilmNation Entertainment films Films about nurses Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Tobias Lindholm Films produced by Darren Aronofsky Films scored by Clint Mansell Films shot in Connecticut Films set in New Jersey Films with screenplays by Krysty Wilson-Cairns Protozoa Pictures films Films set in 2003