A Mistake

It has been a while since I was pleasantly surprised by what I call a "small movie," which is by no means a negative term. Suffice it to say, A Mistake achieved just that.

I admire directors who dare to tackle heavy, genuinely sad, and often depressing topics. But these are the stories that need to be told. They matter. They carry a message.

A Mistake is brilliant because it resonates on so many levels. It sheds light on the immense pressure hospitals and their staff endure, but what makes this film so universally relatable is its exploration of humanity. We, as individuals, are the sum of our choices, and no one wants to be defined by a single mistake. At its core, this movie is about loss, responsibility, and-above all-forgiveness, beautifully conveyed through the outstanding performance of Elizabeth Banks.

I was touched by this movie. It compassionately illustrates the complexities of medicine and the people practicing it- it makes a striking point without painting a black and white portrait of a hero or villain. I enjoyed the acting from all of the cast, especially Banks. The actors portraying the deceased patient's parents did an amazing job too.

I was also moved by the juxtaposition of veterinary and human medicine, including points made about medical intervention and death with dignity.

It makes you wonder how anyone survives in the healthcare industry at times. It's easy to see why a healthcare worker might develop a hardened exterior.

I love New Zealand and its people, I really do. But we are a very safe and predictable people, and so we tend to write terrible books (I should know I was forced to read a number of them in school) and make extremely bland films. 'A Mistake' is no exception. Sure, we got some Hollywood talent across the Pacific for this one, but the result was the same.

In fairness its not all bad. I quite like a film that bases itself around a simple concept, or one minor event that leads to a number of consequences. For a film like that, this is about as good as you can expect. Yes a lot of the drama feels very forced and the characters are absolutely ridiculous and in no way resemble how normal people act, but hey, I guess you have to jazz things up a bit for the sake of the film.

I don't know, I guess it's just disappointing because you almost always know exactly what you're going to get with a New Zealand made film. I keep waiting for the day someone breaks the mold, but this wasn't that occasion. A generous 6/10.

Gifted surgeon Elizabeth Taylor (Elizabeth Banks) finds her life thrown into disarray following a mistake by one of her team during surgery appears to lead to a patient's death. The bureaucratic Head of Surgery Andrew McGrath (Simon McBurney) seems to hold her responsible somehow and tries to control her and what she can say publicly about the incident. He also suspends her and treats her almost as 'the enemy' during the coming weeks.

I suspect most hospitals are run by people like Andrew McGrath and I suspect many health practitioners suffer the heavy hand of that type of bureaucracy. Despite seeming to want transparency and accountability, they seem to only want it on their own terms. It reminded me of course of the many investigations into health care in the UK where hospitals spend many years fighting in court to hide their malpractice. Malpractice that often -when the reports are finally made public- show that the hospital either knew about and tried to hide it, or engineered that malpractice through overly bureaucratic processes that did not fit with quality health care. The parents of the patient who died simply wanted to know the truth about what happened, and yet that was not easily available.

Although this is just a story I suspect it is highlighting the fact that this goes on, every day, in healthcare settings. Politics should have no place in healthcare but sadly it seems most hospitals are run by people like Andrew McGrath.

It's a very thought provoking film and Banks does a brilliant job of bringing Dr Elizabeth Taylor to life. I give it a solid 7.

This movie can be a bit hard to watch because of its intensity. It's definitely made to provoke emotion and thought. Even several days later I'm still thinking about it.

On the surface, it's a medical drama revolving around the titular mistake and consequences. But there's more depth and complexity - even the mistake is not as obvious as it seems. Competing forces clash and interact, driven by conflicting motives while we watch Elizabeth Banks' character react, evolve and reach a resolution. Her character development, as well as that of secondary characters, is what makes this movie so powerful. As much as I squirmed, I had to stay to watch it all the way through.

I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending, While not a happy Hollywood ending, I think more could have been done with it. Despite that, the movie was very much worth watching if you're looking for a dark and powerful charactor driven story.