Capturing the Killer Nurse

"Capturing the Killer Nurse" is the kind of documentary you watch with a bucket of popcorn, only to realize halfway through that maybe popcorn wasn't the right choice for a film about a nurse who's less about the TLC and more about the R. I. P. It's an okay watch-think of it as a true crime podcast but with visuals, so you no longer have to imagine what everyone looks like. The documentary does a commendable job of laying out the timeline and facts, like a Wikipedia article with a budget for dramatic reenactments and suspenseful music scores.

However, the film struggles to find its unique voice in the crowded room of true crime documentaries. It's like going to a costume party and finding out three other people wore the same "Killer Nurse" outfit. You appreciate the effort, but wish there was a bit more originality in the presentation. The interviews, reconstructions, and archival footage are all well and good, but they never quite elevate the material beyond the expected tropes. It's akin to a chef meticulously recreating a classic dish but forgetting that secret ingredient that makes you say, "Wow, I need the recipe!"

In the end, "Capturing the Killer Nurse" earns a solid 3.5 stars. It's the documentary equivalent of a B-minus student: reliable, does what's expected, but won't particularly astonish you with new insights or methods. You'll walk away informed, perhaps a little entertained, but unlikely to rush to your friends to discuss it. It's the perfect background noise for folding laundry or scrolling through your phone-capable of capturing your attention in brief spurts, but not guilty of stealing your entire evening.

I read the Good Nurse five years ago and I consider it one of the best true crime books that I have ever read, and I have read well over three hundred of them.

Charles Cullen is the good nurse in question here. The lunatic worked at several hospitals and a nursing home, leaving a trail of death behind.

Finally, after fifteen years and a number of untimely and suspicious deaths, one courageous nurse voiced her feelings to a pair of tenacious detectives.

A Catholic priest was one of Chuckie's murder victims and after being exhumed, the good reverend had a high level of the heart medication Digoxin in his body.

The recordings of Cullen are riveting and I only wish that more of them had been used in the film.

I highly recommend both the book and the film.

Truth may be stranger than fiction, but in the case of this documentary, it's an improvement. Serial killers have been a compelling subject for dramatization since Hitchcock's "Psycho," at least in American popular culture. But the fascination dates back to Jack the Ripper, and even farther back to the Middle Ages. This year it's Netflix's recent portrayal of the "good nurse" killer, a dismal excuse for biographical adaptation. It might have been worthwhile if it had offered new insight into horrible events, portrayed compelling emotions, or delved into human nature. The result could have been interesting, even entertaining, like a thriller. This documentary accomplishes all of this with no convoluted plot and contrived performances. The actual killer, Charles Cullen, is a far more chilling and impenetrable human being than the one portrayed by Eddie Redmayne. Cullen's matter-of-fact delivery as he explains the motivations that lead him to kill patients and his almost childlike self-possession are unnerving. Redmayne is a good actor, but his choice of intonation and nearly comatose performance failed to capture these real qualities. With straight-forward story telling and genuine emotion, this film imparts unimaginable horrors all the more frightening because they are so credible.

It's difficult to tell just how accurate this documentary is. I take it that it's pretty accurate, since the original people were involved and most did not try to hide their shame at being unwittingly involved with this man's murders.

What's missing though is more in-depth information about his childhood, his psychological motivations, or other things that makes criminal pathology a fascinating field. His motivation is so meagerly discussed it's almost non-existent. Anyone trying to get into the mind of the killer will be disappointed here.

What I am most shocked at is that criminal investigations were not brought against the hospitals and administrators that suspected (ie knew) this was going on and just passed him on to other hospitals. They would seem as responsible for those deaths as the murderer, yet not a one of them has been brought to trail? That is so unthinkable that it galls.

All in all a reasonable documentary, but it leaves quite a bit out that would have made the rather slow-moving commentary more interesting and informative. We know the story, but little about the "why" (other than the killer was seriously warped, of course). The fact that his murders were at times random was an indication there was far more going on here than basic mercy killings. The documentary would have done well to delve deeper into the psychology and motivation of that part of this story.

Netflix, shortly after releasing "the Good Nurse", featuring Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain, put forth a documentary about the same events. The documentary follows Charles Cullen, an ICU nurse, who jumps hospitals every time he gets into trouble and finds most of his work in intensive care units, which handle patients with severe or life-threatening illnesses or injuries.

Cullen is mostly described by his coworkers as smart but corky, and a bit weird however overall a good nurse. He has a certain panacea for pharmaceuticals particularly remembering the name use of the medicines even for the rare ones.

After graduating with a nursing degree in 1986, Cullen started working for St Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. He went on a killing spree from 1986 until his arrest in December 2003. He repeatedly claimed that he wanted to end patients' lives to end their suffering, nonetheless, he killed patients who were getting better and sometimes as young as 21 years old.

Over the years he confessed to killing 40 people. Although when considering the time frame of roughly about 16 years of nursing and the relative ease of killing his patients, he is assumed to kill more than 400 people.