The Good Nurse (2022)

Movie · 2022 · Drama, Crime, Mystery · 2h 1m · R · English

Curator score: 4.4/10 (91.3K ratings)

Based on the unthinkable true story.

Overview

Suspicious that her colleague is responsible for a series of mysterious patient deaths, a nurse risks her own life to uncover the truth.

Ratings

Director

Tobias Lindholm

Production

Protozoa Pictures, FilmNation Entertainment

Cast

Jessica Chastain, Eddie Redmayne, Nnamdi Asomugha, Kim Dickens, Malik Yoba, Alix West Lefler, Noah Emmerich, Gabe Fazio, Ajay Naidu, Moe Irvin, Maria Dizzia, Shaun O'Hagan, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Denise Pillott, Dartel McRae, Joseph Fugelo, Judith Delgado, Jesus-Papoleto Melendez, Devyn McDowell

Where to watch

Netflix

Curator Review

Verdict

A cold, competent procedural built around strong performances, especially Eddie Redmayne’s unnerving turn and Jessica Chastain’s grounded intensity. It’s effective as a true-crime workplace thriller, but the restrained style and familiar beats keep it from becoming truly memorable.

Best for

  • true-crime thriller fans
  • viewers who like restrained, procedural storytelling
  • fans of performance-driven crime dramas
  • people interested in medical-system corruption stories

Skip if

  • you want a fast-paced thriller
  • you prefer highly stylized or twist-heavy mysteries
  • you’re looking for a deeply emotional character study
  • you dislike bleak, clinical true-crime material

Overview

The Good Nurse is at its best when it leans into unease rather than spectacle. Tobias Lindholm keeps the film controlled and unsentimental, which suits a story about institutional failure, quiet suspicion, and the banality of evil in a hospital setting. The result is less a sensational serial-killer movie than a grim procedural about how long danger can hide in plain sight.

Worth noting

Jessica Chastain gives the film its moral center, playing a nurse whose exhaustion and vulnerability make her investigation feel urgent and human. Eddie Redmayne is the film’s most talked-about element for good reason: his performance is carefully modulated, creepy without becoming cartoonish, and often more disturbing for how ordinary it initially seems.

Bottom line

Still, the movie is somewhat overfamiliar in structure and occasionally too subdued for its own suspense. It works best as a solid, serious crime drama with a strong sense of dread, not as a standout entry in the true-crime canon.

Top Letterboxd reviews

Jay (3★) · 4333 likes

all pale british actors get a chance to play a creepy dude called cullen

milz (3.5★) · 3146 likes

eddie redmayne’s “i can’t” scene alone deserves three oscars

Ashton (3★) · 2502 likes

strong performances aside i was very distracted by how much eddie redmayne looks like ellen degeneres in this

🥳 Benjamin 🎉 (3★) · 1891 likes

The two messages of this movie: 1. Not having health insurance will kill you2. Having health insurance will kill you

alor (3.5★) · 1750 likes

New fear unlocked 🔓✔️

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Topics

true crime, procedural thriller, medical drama, serial killer, institutional corruption, bleak tone, slow-burn suspense, crime drama, based on real events, psychological tension

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