The Good Nurse (2022)
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2025-09 to 2026-08
A nurse working in an intensive care unit begins to suspect that her close friend and colleague is a serial killer.
The story
In 2003, Amy Loughren is a single mother and nurse working in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Parkfield Memorial Hospital in New Jersey, who is suffering from cardiomyopathy. To secure insurance for a heart transplant, she works night shifts alongside Charles Cullen, an experienced nurse who becomes her close friend. When a patient dies under their care, the hospital's administration attempts to downplay the incident. However, local detectives begin investigating the death, and Amy's relationship with Cullen is tested as she must navigate the complexities of the investigation while maintaining her trust in her colleague.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2003, Amy Loughren, a nurse with a secret heart condition, works at Parkfield Memorial Hospital. She becomes close with a new colleague, Charles Cullen. Following the suspicious death of a patient, detectives Danny Baldwin and Tim Braun investigate. While the hospital administration tries to suppress the investigation, Amy discovers that Cullen has been involved in multiple suspicious deaths involving insulin. After a second patient dies, Amy realizes the truth and alerts the police. Although the police cannot get Cullen to confess immediately, Amy eventually confronts him. In a private conversation, Cullen admits to his actions, stating he simply 'did it' because 'they didn't stop me.' A final epilogue reveals Cullen was sentenced to 18 consecutive life sentences for 29 murders, with the actual count potentially reaching 400. Amy successfully undergoes heart surgery and moves to Florida.
- First release year
- 2022
- Runtime (minutes)
- 121
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Tobias Lindholm
- Writers
- Krysty Wilson-Cairns · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Jessica Chastain · Amy Loughren; Eddie Redmayne · Charles Cullen; Nnamdi Asomugha · Danny Baldwin; Noah Emmerich · Tim Braun; Kim Dickens · Linda Garran; Malik Yoba · Sam Johnson; Maria Dizzia · Lori Lucas
- Genres
- thriller; crime drama
- Themes
- medical ethics; serial murder; friendship; institutional cover-up
- Setting
- New Jersey, 2003
- Premise and plot tags
- true crime; medical drama; serial killer
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder by Charles Graeber
- Content notes
- serial killer
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise towards Redmayne's performance.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 65 · scale: 100 · review count: 38
- Production trivia
- The film was the most-viewed film on Netflix on October 27, 2022.; It debuted at number one on Netflix's Top 10 in its first week.; The film was announced in November 2016.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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