Based on Charles Graeber’s 2013 true-crime book The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder, the new Netflix film The Good Nurse depicts the crimes of real-life serial killer Charles Cullen.
Who worked as a nurse for 16 years and is thought to have killed nearly 400 patients. While Eddie Redmayne’s Charles Cullen served as the film’s central point of interest as a mysterious character, director Tobias Lindholm largely centred the story.
On Jessica Chastain’s Amy Loughren, who formed a close relationship with Cullen. Amy initially believes Charles Cullen’s portrayal of a kind and caring nurse, but she soon discovers that the true nature of her seemingly innocent coworker is far more sinister.
The Good Nurse doesn’t begin with Charles Cullen’s first murder, but rather the beginning of the end for the serial killer’s life. Charles Cullen had been fired from numerous hospitals.
Before his close friend and coworker Amy Loughren began to suspect him of being responsible for a shocking increase in sudden deaths in the hospital. In The Good Nurse, we see what happens next for Charles Cullen and Amy after he starts working at Somerset Hospital in New Jersey.
Was Amy Loughren A Real Person?
Somerset hospital, where the real Amy Loughren worked with Charles Cullen, was renamed Parkfield Memorial Hospital for the film. Amy Loughren, a real-life mother of two, was afflicted with cardiomyopathy, a condition that made it hard for her heart to pump blood throughout her body.
As depicted in the film, Amy struggled to deal with the stress of her job because of the long hours she was required to work. When Charles found Amy struggling for air, he promised to help out until she could afford health insurance.
From that moment on, the two became fast friends. These occurrences actually occurred like they did in the movie. Charles later aided Amy in stealing medicines from the PYXIS MedStation via hacking in order to fulfil his promise from that night.
Amy’s investigation relied heavily on Charles’s ability to hack the MedStation, which allowed her to withdraw medications without leaving a paper trail.
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As the story progresses in The Good Nurse, we see that Amy and Charles have become close friends while working together. Despite the fact that Charles and Amy have only become friends, she felt comfortable enough with him to introduce him to her daughters.
In real life, Amy had grown close to Charles Cullen before she learned the truth about the otherwise dedicated doctor. Amy Loughren has revealed that her confidant Charles Cullen is a close friend on her official website. She says she loved and trusted him before she knew the truth about him.
How Did Amy Find Out About Charles Cullen’s Crimes?
Although Amy’s point of view is still central, the film’s depiction of how she learned of Charles Cullen’s crimes deviates slightly from the actual events. Although Amy eventually comes to suspect her coworker Charles of being behind the mysterious deaths, it takes her a while to come to that conclusion.
In the film, Amy questioned for the first time by Detectives Tim Braun (Noah Emmerich) and Danny Baldwin (Nnamdi Asomugha) about the death of Mrs. Martinez, a 77-year-old woman who was likely Charles’s first victim at Parkfield.
Amy chooses to swear by Charles’s innocence. In the film, Amy didn’t find the pieces of evidence that proved Charles’ guilt until much later. After reviewing Charles’ data, Amy grew suspicious of her coworker’s true motives, as described in Graeber’s book.
The charts were completely wrong, with misspelled words and incorrect data. More importantly, Amy’s access to Charles’ records revealed that he engaged in some suspicious surfing behaviour, as he spent a significant amount of time perusing the records of patients who were under the care of other nurses.
Amy discovered damning evidence when she noticed that Charles occasionally ordered a strange drug cocktail. Although Charles Cullen worked in the intensive care unit, Graeber claims that Amy’s list of drugs observed included medications typically administered to patients in the cardiac unit.
How Did The Police Arrest Charles Cullen?
In case she is successful in breaking Charles Cullen, Amy helps the police by wearing a wire to record his confession in the film. With Amy’s assistance, the police hope to solidify their case against Charles Cullen. Amy and Charles then have a meeting at a nearby diner, where she continues to press the seasoned killer for information.
As Amy desperately tries to make Charles confess to his heinous crimes, Lindholm’s approach adopts a more emotionally confrontational tone. While Charles ultimately succeeds in foiling Amy’s plans, he does so only after considerable inner conflict. In the end, Charles Cullen apparently decided to keep going when he was close to giving up.
According to an interview with Newsweek, the real Amy Loughren said that Charles Cullen was much more collected. And collected than he appeared in the diner scene. Although Charles did not admit guilt in either version of the story. He did so with much less resistance in real life than he had on screen.
From that point on, the movie’s depiction of events is largely spot-on. Soon after their meeting in the diner, the police arrest Charles Cullen, and Amy pays a visit to her former colleague in jail. Where he admits his guilt.
Amy has had her heart surgery and moved to Florida, the Good Nurse reveals. Bringing her story to a satisfying conclusion. Despite Charles’ arrest, Amy continued to keep in touch with him. Throughout his trial by paying him several visits and writing him letters.
Charles Cullen, also known as the “Angel of Death”. Due to his string of 18 consecutive life sentences, currently incarcerated in New Jersey State Prison. It revealed at the end of the movie that he will not eligible for release until the year 2403.
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In Florida, where she lives with her kids and grandkids, Amy is training to become a Reiki master. And meditation teacher.
The film by Lindholm based on a true story. But it does use some dramatic licence to make sure the key points of the story conveyed effectively on screen. Experts continue to argue over the scope of one of America’s most notorious serial killers. But the events depicted in The Good Nurse are based on fact.
Final Words
Actor Eddie Redmayne enrolled in nursing school in preparation. For the role of Nurse Amy Loughren, played by Jessica Chastain, in the film The Good Nurse. Loughren begins to suspect that her coworker, Charlie Cullen, is responsible for a string of patient deaths.
Tobias Lindholm helmed the film adaptation of Charles Graeber’s 2013 novel of the same name. Which inspired by the true story of the serial killer.
Born in New Jersey in 1960, Charles Cullen was the eighth of nine children. His father passed away before he turned one. And his mother perished in a car crash when he was in his teens.
Cullen had a difficult childhood marked by bullying that led her to join the navy. For a short time before she enrolled in and completed nursing school in 1986. According to reports, he attempted suicide several times due to his depression.
They have two daughters together. Cullen married Adrianne Baum in 1987. When Adrianne saw how he treated the family dogs, she finally had enough and filed for divorce in 1993.
It believed that Cullen, early in his nursing career. Began killing patients, typically by giving them an overdose of intravenous medication.
