El ángel de la muerte

In true-crime drama "The Good Nurse" Jessica Chastain & Eddie Redmayne (two superb talents at the top of their games) are nurses in a New Jersey hospital ICU where unbeknownst to them a mysterious death on their ward is under investigation (involving cops Nnamdi Asumgha & Noah Emmerich (and hospital 'Risk Manager' Kim Dickens)). As different facts slowly come to light the cops help Chastain begin to realise that her kindly close friend may actually be a killer... even a serial killer. Excellently directed with slow-burn tension by Tobias Lindholm, and written at good, engaging & growing pace by Krysty Wilson-Cairns, this is high-quality film-making.

Overworked nurse Amy Loughren befriends new team addition Charles Cullen, no sooner does he arrive on the ward, do the number of early deaths start increasing.

Such a chilling story, I have seen and read info about the case before, so I had an idea of what to expect, credit to the writing and production team for keeping it realistic, at no time did it feel as though it had been sensationalised or over dramatised.

What's more chilling, the actual crimes, or the stonewalling? It saddens me to think of healthcare as a business, but sadly that's what it is, the way he was allowed to move from job to job, I hope those that facilitated this struggle to live with themselves, they effectively enabled him to kill.

Well paced, dramatic, definitely chilling, for a long film it passed by quickly.

Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne were both terrific in their respective roles, two genuinely sincere and believable performances, Charles Cullen was portrayed as someone you'd trust, someone kind, caring, but deadly.

8/10.

Eddie Redmayne is just effortlessly portraying a wide variety of characters but not nearly as many as I would like to see. His performances are always outstanding and this performance to date is my favourite for Best Actor. Eddie and Jessica carry what seems to be a not so thorough look on the serial killer that is Charles Cullen. Very basic and shocking story carried by a powerful lead performance. I recently just finished Dahmer and this was the perfect come down from what was one of the most thorough portrayals of a seriel killer I've seen on television. Highly recommend The Good Nurse and a solid 8/10 from me.

Surprisingly captivating film. Really. You should not be fooled. If you didn't read any overview about this film prior to watching it, you'll think this is a a feel-good film because of the title. But it's a veritable thriller.

The first part of the film reminds you of the great work that nurses do. Nursing is a difficult, tiresome and, sometimes, thankless job but being a good nurse is more than a job, it's a calling. Particularly at the height of the COVID pandemic.

What's distinctive about this film is that it forces you to ask a lot of questions, frantic "what if" questions. That's how tight the storyline is and how director Lundholm succeeds in keeping you on tenterhooks. Sixteen minutes to the closing credits and the viewer still doesn't have a clue as to how it will end.

The two lead actors are wonderful. Eddie Reymayne is consistently a good actor and his performance here is par for the course. He is sinister here in a quiet way which makes him appear to the viewer as more dangerous. And Jessica Chastein embodies the qualities of a good nurse in Amy but she'll rise to the occasion when it's needed.

Watch it. You'd feel relieved when it ends.

It always adds to the viewing experience when a movie is (accurately) based on disturbing real life events, and that's what makes this Netflix slow burner so much more compelling.

Of course it also helps when you get two Oscar winning heavyweights in Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne as the two leads, and unsurprisningly, these two legit A-listers are absolutely brilliant in this one.

While the story largely focuses on the lives and relationship between two ICU nightshift nurses, what it's really about is the greed, self preservation and insanity of the money obsessed American healthcare system, where the mantra is very much "profit over life".

It's this underlying theme coupled with the fact that mass murderer nurse Charles Cullen (Redmayne) was responsible for up to 400 hospital murders (but charged with just 29) that keep you gripped and in a state of shocked disbelief as the film slowly progresses.

Eddie's portrayal of Cullen is aptly understated, creepy and foreboding while Chastain's Angel of mercy whistleblower is steely strong, compassionate and right on the money. A shout out as well to the rest of the small supporting cast who also do a stellar job.

Yes it's dark, dour and slow moving but the artistry and true life events on show here overrides all this - it's a must-see movie folks, because let's face it, this type of harsh reality relates to us all in one way or another.

If you are lucky to have a free, integrity based healthcare system count your blessings... you should after watching this! Heartfelt recommended viewing.