As a true crime enthusiast, I couldn’t wait to dive into the Netflix film “The Good Nurse” and its accompanying documentary. The story of Charles Cullen, a nurse who murdered multiple patients under his care, is both chilling and captivating. In this post, I will reveal the real-life events depicted in both the film and documentary, uncovering the shocking truths and gripping details of one of the most disturbing cases in medical history. So, grab some popcorn and get ready to be amazed by the true story behind “The Good Nurse”.
The true story. When Amy Loughren’s new co-worker, Charlie Cullen, began working at Somerset Medical Center in New Jersey, she was initially relieved; he was very knowledgeable, relatable, a good coworker and soon became a kind and generous man who offered emotional support to her and they became close friends.
At the same time, they both worked towards helping other patients through their high-pressure night shifts together – especially since it meant that he could watch her children when she couldn’t get out of bed due to illness or fatigue on some nights!
Soon after Cullen started, one of their patients died unexpectedly — then another, then another. Loughren was determined to find out why. Detectives would later find out Cullen was potentially responsible for at least 400 deaths across hospitals in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
About the Documentary Capturing the Killer Nurse
The 2022 true-crime documentary film Capturing the Killer Nurse reveals how Amy Loughren and investigators proved Cullen was killing patients — and how close he came to getting away with it. It is directed by Tim Travers Hawkins, who wrote with Robin Ockleford.
Capturing the Killer Nurse takes viewers back to the early 2000s after Cullen had settled into his new job at a New Jersey hospital and Loughren became suspicious about their dying patients. Cullen was later convicted of 29 murders, though he killed around 400 patients, according to Cullen himself and the investigation.
The documentary includes interviews with Cullen, his co-workers, detectives, and Amy Loughren, a friend and fellow nurse who assisted the detectives. There are interviews with family members of the victims, journalist and author Charles Graeber and audio from Cullen himself.
The film also looks at the U.S. healthcare system, saying that the profit motives of private healthcare helped Charles continue to commit his crimes without consequences. It began streaming on Netflix on November 11, 2022.
Cullen’s crimes occurred in at least nine different hospitals across New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
About the Drama Film The Good Nurse
The Good Nurse Netflix true story the drama film is directed by Tobias Lindholm — longtime Thomas Vinterberg co-writer (Festival favourites Another Round, The Hunt) — who teams with Jessica Chastain for his first American feature as director; previously, he directed the academy-nominated foreign film A War.
The film is based on the book The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness and Murder by Charles Graeber and scripted by Krysty Wilson-Cairns, who wrote the Sam Mendes film 1917. Darren Aronofsky’s Protozoa produced the film.
Netflix’s “The Good Nurse” is a dramatization of the events leading up to Cullen’s arrest, and it offers a disturbing glimpse into the mind of a killer. Staring two academy Best Actor Award Winners, Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne. Both did a fantastic job. The film also stars Nnamdi Asomugha, Kim Dickens, and Noah Emmerich.
The Good Nurse Netflix true story had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2022, and was released in cinemas on October 19, 2022, before its streaming release on October 26, 2022, on Netflix.
My thoughts about The Good Nurse Netflix true story
My Husband is a nurse, and we watched the film knowing absolutely nothing about it, we just read the title “The good nurse,” and we were shocked as watching it. The movie starts as a sad drama about a nurse (Chastain) with a heart condition. The movie at the begging reminds me a bit of Erin Brockovich a hard-working woman struggling to raise by herself her two daughters.
Then the movie got a twist. It is about a serial Killer, and as in Erin Brockovich, the good nurse (Amy Loughren) helped the investigators to resolve the case and put Charlie Cullen behind bars. It is very disturbing to realize the health system in the USA is broken and that a healthcare provider will murder you.
To this day, we don’t know why he did it. We can assume through watching both the movie and the documentary not only that he had mental health issues, but he had abandonment issues, especially after his mother passed away. It is shocking to learn that he admitted himself to a psychiatric institution but it was released by the institution saying he was totally fine.
So, be prepared to be disturbed by the true story, but passing that, both the Drama film and The documentary are worth streaming. The Good Nurse Netflix true story now Streaming!
Watch the film review blog post about Prime Video My Policeman.
