Netflix’s new movie The Good Nurse tells the chilling true story of serial killer Charles Cullen. Played here by Eddie Redmayne, we meet the New Jersey nurse as he joins Amy’s (Jessica Chastain) team in the ICU. The pair develop a close friendship, but after a string of mysterious deaths, she begins to question if he’s hiding a huge secret.
Total Film’s James Mottram gave the movie four stars in our latest issue, which features Enola Holmes 2 on the cover. Calling it a "superior true-crime tale," he praised Redmayne and Chastain’s performances, writing: "As a woman who goes from frazzled to frightened, Chastain aces it, while Redmayne delivers his most disturbing role – by turns placid and volcanic – since his turn as an incestuous son in Savage Grace."
Other reviews for the new movie have been largely positive, with lots of praise for Redmayne and Chastain in the leading roles. Check out the verdicts in our review round-up below.
Deadline – Pete Hammond
"The Good Nurse has much in common with the Oscar-winning Spotlight, which took on the Catholic Church, or even the excellent Paul Newman-starring movie The Verdict from Sidney Lumet in 1982 that also focused on one person pulling themselves up against all odds for the greater good. The Good Nurse turns out to be one of the best pictures of 2022 with two of the strongest performances you will see all year."
Entertainment Weekly – Leah Greenblatt
"It feels like a faint insult to say that The Good Nurse could be a premium-cable product from long ago, one of those lightly prestige-y Sunday-night movies Showtime or HBO used to make. But it's also one crafted with sturdy, consummate skill, burnished by two Oscar winners who don't stint on their performances just because most people will end up seeing Nurse on a small screen. And when, exactly, did that kind of filmmaking stop being more than good enough?"
The Washington Post – Michael O’Sullivan
"Redmayne ultimately fails to crack the secret of what made this man – er, this monster – tick. But that’s not really the biggest mystery that hangs over 'Nurse.' Rather, it is the question of why all these power players thought something this slight, this weightless, this forgettable was ever worth their time."
The Hollywood Reporter – John Defore
"A true-crime picture whose chilling effects are generated without a whiff of the manipulation that often comes with such films, Tobias Lindholm’s The Good Nurse watches as a veteran caregiver (Jessica Chastain) realizes her new best friend at work (Eddie Redmayne) may be killing their patients. That fact is up front in loglines and promotional materials, which is a shame, because the very fine drama works even better for someone who walks in knowing only the stars’ and director’s names."
The Observer – Wendy Ide
"There’s a tendency, when awards season comes around, to assume that the best performances are also the biggest. But in fact, two of the very finest pieces of acting this year are at the opposite end of the spectrum: the restrained, minutely detailed, emotionally intelligent work delivered by Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne in the excellent, fact-based thriller The Good Nurse."
Check out our round-up of the best Netflix movies available to stream now for what else to add to your watchlist.
