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 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.

Banks' Dr. Taylor could've been me, or half the surgeons I've worked with. That little knot of pride trusting you've got the skill, the judgment, the *right* to be in control, until you decide to let someone else take the step you've taken a thousand times. You tell yourself it's mentorship. You tell yourself they're ready. Then you blink, and the patient's gone.

It wasn't the first scenes that hit me. It was the silence afterward. The way people won't meet your eyes in the hallway. The administrative smiles that hide sharpened teeth. The moment you realize the institution will feed you to the wolves if it keeps them out of the headlines. She carried herself exactly like we do when we're trying not to drown shoulders square, voice even, replaying the moment over and over until you think maybe you can reverse time if you find the right frame. I know that replay. I live with my own.

The film left me with this sick pit in my stomach. Not because it's exaggerated, but because it isn't. It's real. One mistake, one lapse, and suddenly your years of service, your reputation, your sense of self, they're all on the table.

Started off slow, Elizabeth Banks as a top surgeon in her field operates while teaching in a gone a bit wrong operation. The patient Lisa ends up dying in intensive care after the operation.

Then the hospital needs to find a guilty party. Her poor intern Richard takes this as a massive career loss.

For me it makes me really think about Surgeons who daily try their very best to keep us alive. Sometimes people die. It haunts them I'm sure.

Elizabeth does not a good job with her accent. Other then that it's a sad somber movie that takes a look at one case ... Heartbreaking as it is, I believe our Doctors try their very best to save us. If it can not be done then it was your time to go...not the surgeons .

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.