Being employed in the medical field is serious business. There are a lot of rules and regulations surrounding confidentiality, not just for patients but for medical professionals as well. The Good Nurse is a true story that shows how wrong things can go when those rules and regulations allow someone who can’t be trusted to care for seriously ill patients. As someone who has family that works in the medical field, this film spoke to me. And it shows how hospitals have changed since the true events of The Good Nurse.

Although The Good Nurse is a feature length film, its cinematography is like watching a hospital TV show. Many scenarios are rushed and the dialogue is not really enthralling. The plot of the film introduces us to nurse Amy Loughren, played by Jessica Chastain. She is a workaholic nurse with two children, and works constantly to make ends meet. Amy has a good heart with her patients and has a good home life. A new nurse, Charlie Cullen, played by Eddie Redmayne, joins Amy’s ward. He appears to have positive and caring qualities that lift Amy’s spirits when she gets down at her job. But as their patients start to die one-by-one, Amy starts to believe that Charlie is the one causing the deaths. Detectives Danny and Tim (played by Nnamdi Asomugha and Noah Emmerich) are assigned to the case, but confidentiality at the different hospitals where Charlie previously worked makes it an ordeal to get proof to put an end to Charlie’s terrible acts.

Redmayne’s performance as Charlie is sinister with a charm. He rides his evil side. Hospital confidentiality has protected him over the years and has allowed him been able to just move to another hospital when he was fired. And that confidentiality has also allowed him to continue in his evil ways.

The Good Nurse is not exactly brilliant, but it is haunting. The many patients who died makes the film disturbing. We fear for the safety of the patients, and also the safety of Amy. Chastain’s performance as Amy is breathtaking and daring, but the film is depressing. It is certainly not a feel-good movie, although I will say it is faithful to its harrowing story. It was worth a watch but it may be hard to watch again. Two and a half stars for The Good Nurse.