We have seen this movie before, a psychotic person who goes around killing people when they are in their most helpless state. What makes it even more brutal is that the person doing it is supposed to be the one saving that person's lives. That's why the title here - 'The Good Nurse' delineates quite clearly the characters of the two main leads - Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne - who are nurse colleagues in a hospital.
Jessica Chastain won the Oscar last year for 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye' but I adore her performance here. It is quite restrained but very subtle. I love how she transitions from believing that her colleague is a caring person to her realization that she might have been working with a monster. I love how she shows her fear, her anxiety, and her resolve to put this bastard behind bars. It's not showy acting but I can feel her strength and her disbelief that she trusted this guy who turns out to be the devil himself.
Eddie Redmayne is getting all the nominations for this performance because it is the more showy role. That last scene alone could make the voters choose him for a supporting actor role nomination.
I love how tight the story is and how it slowly peels away the layers of the story starting with how slow the hospital moved when these deaths were happening to them. I too was incredulous that they acted quite slowly, but what do I know about hospital lawsuits. The suspense of the movie builds up very slowly mainly because Eddie Redmayne is also a great actor and he 'hides' that personality away from the prying eyes of the public. What he cannot hide are the number of deaths that happen during his shift.
I love the movie and I wish it was more flashy. But I am satisfied with the ending. And this being a true story sends shivers to my spine.
