Not a Perfect Nurse
When her husband is put in charge of a multi-million dollar hotel renovation it leads to Cara (Brigid Brannagh - Next Stop Murder) returning to the area where she grew up, where her estranged father, Frank (John Heard - The Great Debaters), lives. It may have been decades ago but Cara has never forgiven her father for leaving her and her mother when she was a little child but now finds herself having to deal with her feelings when he suddenly has a stroke. It leads to Cara and her husband having Frank move in with him which also leads to Lynette (Willa Ford - A Father's Secret), a nurse, to also move in to aid in Frank's recovery. But as time passes Cara begins to become concerned about what is going on, especially when a physiotherapist shows his suspicion over Cara.
"The Nurse", which was shown in the UK under than name "The Killer Nurse", starts with an attempt to capture the thriller styling of the past. We have a car heading up a winding road, we have a glorious mansion, we have over the top acting and we have a camera which elongates the view so that corners in a room seem to stretch back. I am not sure why director Sam Irvin did this, he also employs the same styling towards the end of the movie, because it feels a little too cheesy almost tongue in cheek and to aware of what it is. I also mention this because what goes on between the style shifts is pretty typical of the made for TV thriller when it comes to the acting, the drama, the story and the camera work.
Now that synopsis for "The Nurse" doesn't go in to detail but it isn't a spoiler when I say that nurse Lynette is a bit unhinged and up to some psycho-stalkerish stuff after she moves in. As such we get people who upset her mysteriously dying, we have her being flirty as she talks to people, often with her nurse's uniform barely containing her body, and there is even a scene of her climbing out of the swimming pool to showcase that body. But whilst all this unhinged activity and evil stares is pretty standard stuff what "The Nurse" has going for it is the reveal at the end which I won't say is completely surprising but it does make you think back and question a scene from earlier on in the movie. In truth there are other things which don't quite connect properly but the reveal certainly makes you question whether the story was changed as the movie was being made.
There is one other thing which needs to be said about "The Nurse". Now on one hand you have Willa Ford and Brigid Brannagh who both deliver solid performances, the sort of thing you expect in a made for TV movie. But then you have Jack Noseworthy and David Millbern who at times come across like they are having a laugh and as such some of their scenes come across ridiculous because of the way they deliver their lines.
What this all boils down to is that "The Nurse" isn't anything special when it comes to made for TV movies and as such ends up one of those movies which is not only hit and miss but the sort of thing you watch when you don't want anything too taxing to watch.
