By Christopher James

Talented actors can only take a project so far. Netflix’s latest feature, The Good Nurse, lives up to its title, but not by much. Based on a true story of a nurse who poisoned a large number of patients across ten hospitals, the source material is perfect for a true crime obsessive. However, what usually makes those stories interesting are the odd details that lodge into a viewer’s brain, making the story unable to shake off. The Good Nurse is an aggressive play straight down the middle, as it opts to be more of a character piece. Oscar winners Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne do plenty of heavy lifting in the lead roles, but can’t turn an okay movie into a great one.

Our titular “Good Nurse,” Amy Loughren (Jessica Chastain) is what we call a trope magnet...