Premise: A nurse comes to realize another nurse at her hospital is a serial killer.
The true story of Charles Cullen is a better inspiration for a movie than an actual story for a movie. He's a nurse who killed patients. That makes a good horror movie or crime thriller. It's the basis of a character that an actor could really develop and have fun with. Cullen's actual story though is pretty boring. He killed a lot of patients and used hospitals' fear of liability to continue to get jobs even after previous employers all but confirmed his crimes. He wasn't threatening in any other circumstances. It's not like Ted Bundy, where if you backed him into a corner, you could be the next victim. The investigation into his crimes was pretty straightforward. It just needed any detective to stumble upon one of the deaths and question foul play. Beyond some stonewalling for hospital records, it came together pretty easily. In the years since he was arrested, it doesn't sound like he's been that enlightening about his crimes. Just some of the standard "he thought he was ending their suffering" defenses. You can use the idea of him for a great story. You really can't use him as a good story.
That's the biggest hurdle with The Good Nurse and it doesn't clear it. Eddie Redmayne how two modes: bashful and charming, creepy and mannered. This is a creepy and mannered performance. His acting is big in how much he decided to retreat into himself. The film tried to make him an enigma, but it just made the character feel unexplored. Jessica Chastain is the actual lead of the movie and there's just not a lot for her to do. Redmayne isn't an actual threat to her, since he only goes after patients who can't fight back. So, most of Chastain's actions are noticing stuff and maybe pulling a file from work for police.
The Good Nurse is a well-executed medical thriller. There just isn't much to execute.
Verdict: Weakly Don't Recommend
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