Despite being predictable and lacking a punchy climax, The Good Nurse is an effective slow-build thriller with an intriguing premise that reflects a shocking true story and is well-acted by its leads.

Nurse Amy Loughren (Jessica Chastain) befriends newly-hired co-worker Charlie Cullen (Eddie Redmayne) until hospital patients suddenly begin dying. Could this new friend be responsible for these deaths? Or is someone  or something else to blame? Charlie is such a kind and helpful individual to Amy and so how will she respond when she learns that Charlie is being investigated? 

If you’ve followed this story in the news then you’re sure to know how it all ends. Additionally, viewing the trailer should imply how the story ends. Nonetheless, the screenplay by Krysty Wilson-Cairns keeps the story interesting, focusing on the psychological conflict our protagonist comes up against. Because the characters are so well-developed, you will feel the fear and anxiety Amy experiences. Director Tobias Lindholm does fantastic orchestrating the story to slowly allow the audience to connect with the characters. This connection allows the viewer, despite knowing how the story might end, to appreciate the nerve-wrecking journey the characters endure to get there.

Noah Emmerich and Nnamdi Asomugha play homicide detectives Tim Braun and Danny Baldwin, who are relentlessly investigating these peculiar deaths. The uncoverings they find move the story along briskly and both actors brought a fiercely intriguing presence to the roles. When a hospital representative (Kim Dickens) is clearly concealing information from the detectives, Asomugha bolts up and demands answers in a fed-up determined tone of voice; scenes like this showcased the duo’s determination, which was quite admirable.

While the film’s conflict is primarily focused on the cause of patient deaths, we also explore how the hospital system (as an organization) attempts to conceal information, as I articulated in the aforementioned scene. This is compelling because you learn that negative publicity and finances are giant motives for an organization to hide details from not only the public but also the authorities. Without spoiling specific details of the plot, there’s certain actions that hospital executives take that show that they know what truly is going on but they opt to hide it and handle it in an unconventional and morally questionable manner.

Cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes presents a fairly bland looking picture. Nothing ever popped off the screen. Both leads work the night shift at the hospital so naturally scenes are dark but everything looks incredibly dull. I was begging for any scene to have some contrast and higher saturated colors. If you think of recent films Invisible Man and Scream (which have hospital scenes) both have colors such as blues and greens amidst the background that made the scenes a bit more interesting to view. Although this color grade may be realistic of an actual hospital, it did not have much dimension.

Despite where The Good Nurse falters, its strengths outweigh its weaknesses and I highly recommend the informative flick that is both interesting and well-acted.