The Good Nurse treats people to a true story

The Good Nurse is a hard pill to swallow. The story is heavy from right at the beginning as it follows a nurse named Amy Loughren through her struggles at home and on the job. She discovers shocking secrets from a coworker named Charlie Cullen after the death of a patient she had grown close to and a nightmare begins for the single mother. 

This could have been a made-for-television movie except for the cast and crew who elevate the material. Based on the ominously titled book  The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder, this project takes its time in rolling out some very disturbing material.  

Loughren is played by Jessica Chastain, who once again knocks it out of the park with a fully-developed character. This is about as far away from Tammy Faye as she could get after taking home an Academy Award for that part in 2021. 

Fellow Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne embodies the serial killer Cullen with an understated performance that could have been overplayed. He disappears inside the monster while portraying an exterior that is both likable and complicated. 

Coming from the healthcare world myself, it is disturbing to think how the public might take this film. There is already so much distrust among healthcare professionals and this won't help matters in that department. Hopefully, audiences will realize this is an isolated case from an unhinged person working in several hospitals. The Good Nurse is really a statement about corporation cover-ups and what they might lead to if left untreated. 

On a recent conference call, the cast revealed how much training was involved before filming began. Chastain and the gang learned everything from the proper way to remove their gloves to the handling of IV solution bags.  

These days viewers are craving true crime stories and trying to figure out the motives of a murderer. They won't find easy answers in the case of Charlie Cullen but instead are presented with possibilities. 

This particular character study may have some reaching for their anxiety pill bottles up until the bitter end when the final facts are revealed. A spoonful of sugar won't help this medicine go down, but the Chastain and Redmayne make an upsetting story more digestible. 

The Good Nurse currently plays on the big screen at select theaters before its small-screen streaming debut on Netflix.com beginning October 26, 2022.