The majority of the film was as to be expected from the promotional material. A tough but caring nurse who is soon to be honoured for her service, and a hardworking doctor treating the eclectic elderly patients as they campaign for the hospital not to be closed. The son of one of these very patients is part of the government body trying to close the hospital down. As he spends time with his ailing father, he starts to realise that there is more to this small hospital than meets the eye.
(Spoilers for the end coming up)
Then, around 15 minutes until the end, someone seems to have dropped the script, and upon picking it up must have accidentally grabbed some pages from a B-movie thriller with it. With absolutely no foreshadowing and nothing leading up to it, it is revealed that our firm but fair nurse is in fact a murderer. She has been killing her elderly patients when she deems them deserving of "putting out of their misery". This is discovered by a patient just as the nurse receives her medal. She is led out of the hospital by police seemingly the same day, with no investigation, no autopsies, no forensics - just an old lady with an iPad for evidence.
This is narrated over by our doctor, as the film has been throughout. He lets us know that she spent the rest of her life in prison and the hospital closed. It then shows him working on a covid ward. In our second genre change in the last 15 minutes, he then has a fourth wall breaking monologue to camera, urging people to take care of the NHS. A worthy message to be sure, but it felt as though it had been thrown on at the last second, and it seems incredibly bizarre to praise glory to essential workers mere moments after showing the main protagonist - a nurse - to be a killer.
The acting was as brilliant as you would expect of several household names, but the film all told felt like a rushed first draft, quickly thrown into cinemas with a tacked on ending to capitalise on the current situation with the NHS and Covid. To market the film as if it's going to be a feel good and heartwarming film about aging and care, then have the ward sister turn out to be a serial killer is bordering on offensive.
(Spoilers for the end coming up)
Then, around 15 minutes until the end, someone seems to have dropped the script, and upon picking it up must have accidentally grabbed some pages from a B-movie thriller with it. With absolutely no foreshadowing and nothing leading up to it, it is revealed that our firm but fair nurse is in fact a murderer. She has been killing her elderly patients when she deems them deserving of "putting out of their misery". This is discovered by a patient just as the nurse receives her medal. She is led out of the hospital by police seemingly the same day, with no investigation, no autopsies, no forensics - just an old lady with an iPad for evidence.
This is narrated over by our doctor, as the film has been throughout. He lets us know that she spent the rest of her life in prison and the hospital closed. It then shows him working on a covid ward. In our second genre change in the last 15 minutes, he then has a fourth wall breaking monologue to camera, urging people to take care of the NHS. A worthy message to be sure, but it felt as though it had been thrown on at the last second, and it seems incredibly bizarre to praise glory to essential workers mere moments after showing the main protagonist - a nurse - to be a killer.
The acting was as brilliant as you would expect of several household names, but the film all told felt like a rushed first draft, quickly thrown into cinemas with a tacked on ending to capitalise on the current situation with the NHS and Covid. To market the film as if it's going to be a feel good and heartwarming film about aging and care, then have the ward sister turn out to be a serial killer is bordering on offensive.