Night Nurse

There are certain professions that I have nothing but respect for, and nursing is right at the top of that list. It takes a special kind of person to care for people the way nurses do, often in ways most of us couldn’t—or wouldn’t. I know I couldn’t do it, and I wanted to give them their due before talking about Georgia Bernstein’s feature debut, Night Nurse. Unlike the real nurses we rely on every day, the ones in this movie may not be the people you want taking care of you, proving that anyone can take a wrong turn in life.

Eleni (Camre Paksoy) is excited to begin her new job at a retirement home. Her boss, Dr. Mann (Mimi Rogers), assigns her to Douglas (Bruce McKenzie), an elderly man in the early stages of dementia. Already caring for Douglas is Mona (Eleonore Hendricks), who seems to have developed a particularly close relationship with her patient.

Douglas may not have all of his memories, but he certainly hasn’t lost his charm, and it’s obvious Mona has already fallen under his spell. Before long, Eleni starts falling for it as well.

Things take a turn when Douglas asks Eleni to make a phone call, pretending to be someone’s granddaughter who has been in an accident and desperately needs money. From there, everything spirals. Mona is eventually fired, while Eleni and Douglas’s relationship—and their increasingly dangerous phone scams—continue to grow.

It doesn’t take long before things go too far. Questions begin to surface, but by then Eleni is in too deep. She’s willing to go to almost any length to stay by Douglas’s side and chase the rush they’ve created together.

Written and directed by Bernstein, Night Nurse somehow walks the line between being a film that won’t be for everyone while never feeling as exploitative as some might expect. Right from the opening scene, you know exactly what kind of movie you’re in for. As the camera slowly moves around a coiled telephone cord wrapping itself around a woman’s body, the film establishes a sensual, unsettling atmosphere that never really lets go.

The story reminded me of films like Crash and Secretary. Like those movies, it’s the kind of film where explaining why you like it can be harder than simply admitting you do.

Night Nurse is moody, brooding, and does its best work in its quieter moments. There’s a fascinating push-and-pull between Eleni and Douglas, with much of the tension coming from what the characters know—and what they don’t.

Paksoy is fantastic. Her facial expressions elevate nearly every scene, especially during the first scam phone call. The look in her eyes makes it impossible to tell whether she’s thrilled by what’s happening or completely frozen by the fear of it. McKenzie is equally impressive, and together the two create an unsettling chemistry that gives the film much of its power.

With all that said, I don’t think most audiences will be prepared for the tone or themes Night Nurse explores. It can be an intentionally uncomfortable watch, and that’s clearly by design.

Where Bernstein lost me a bit was in the ending. The film is at its strongest when it’s mysterious and asks the audience to fill in the blanks. By explaining a little too much in the final stretch, it loses some of the ambiguity that made everything before it so compelling.

I didn’t love everything Night Nurse had to offer, but I admired its willingness to be provocative and unsettling. More than anything, it’s a movie built on mood, and that’s something I can absolutely get behind—even if it’s also one I may never feel the need to revisit.

Brian Taylor

Member of the North Texas Film Critics Association, and lover of all things Cinema