The good nurse is not your typical true crime story. Netflix production, starring Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne, tells the true story of New Jersey resident Amy Loughren nurse who learns that her close friend and colleague is a serial killer.
Instead of just focusing on troubled nurse and killer Charles Cullen, The good nurse chooses to highlight Loughren’s bravery as she worked with the police to bring Cullen down.
“One of the first things Amy said to me when I said, ‘Thank you so much for everything you did, it was an incredible risk to yourself,’ was, ‘Anyone who would have done what I would have done,” Chastain told CBC News at the film’s premiere at TIFF in September.
Cullen, an intensive care unit nurse with Loughren, was convicted in 2006 of killing 29 people using lethal doses of intravenous drugs, although he confessed to killing at least 40 and that the experts suspect it could have caused more than 300 deaths. until his arrest.
In 2003, Loughren wore a recording device to capture Cullen’s confession, which police later used to arrest him.
WATCH | The cast of Good Nurse describes the heroic deeds of Amy Loughren:
Bringing History to Life
Loughren worked closely with Chastain, both on Zoom and on set, to capture Loughren’s empathy and nuance in her actions, she told CBC News.
“She really wanted to be fiercely compassionate, and I think she does,” Loughren said of Chastain’s performance.
Redmayne, who plays Cullen, said he hadn’t heard of the killer before reading the script and couldn’t believe how the story unfolded.
“This man, who seemed very sweet, very kind, very empathetic, was using that empathy and using it as a weapon to do horrible things,” he told CBC News.
Noah Emmerich, who plays Detective Tim Braun, said his role was different from other detectives he’s played in the past. “Detectives couldn’t catch him. They were totally dead in the water until this little angel, Amy.”
The film is not the first adaptation of the murders. The British channel Sky Crime aired a documentary titled Charles Cullen – Killing for Kindness in 2020. Another 2008 movie, killer nurse, was inspired by the serial killer. The Netflix film is based on the 2013 novel The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness and Murder by Charles Graber.
WATCH | How friendship helped Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne film cruel scenes:
Obligations on set
It was a tough story to tell, Redmayne said, but working with Chastain helped. He noted that he and Chastain had been friends for several years, but hadn’t really had a chance to work together before. The good nurse.
“Despite the subject matter being intense and gritty, we had a really joyful time making the film,” he said.
Director Tobias Lindhilm said the actors’ friendship was “just his luck”.
“It’s always dangerous to work with friends. I think since it wasn’t a serial killer story, but a friendship between two people that evolved into something else, I really needed this friendship” , Lindhill said.
WATCH | The Good Nurse trailer:
Watching her friend, Redmayne, transform into Cullen, Chastain said, “I don’t like it, but Amy doesn’t like it either, so I guess it’s a perfect thing to play.”
Loughren said Redmayne’s characterization of Cullen gave him chills.
“I screamed. It was amazing,” she said.
The good nurse debuts October 26 on Netflix.
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