Wow, this film really blew me away, I'd seen clips of it when it was shown at Cannes last year but watching it I didn't know what to expect. This film is amazing, maybe not the best picture ever made but definitely underrated, it's just one pleasant surprise after another. The script is razor sharp and the characters highly interesting, rare for films these days.
The actors are also essential in carrying the film, and Nurse Betty has a great ensemble. We have Pruitt Taylor Vince and Crispin Glover as a pair of small town nitwits, Greg Kinnear as TV soap actor George McCord... And then we've got Chris Rock and Morgan Freeman as a couple of two-bit hit men. Rock has shown great promise in his live stand-up routines but until now he's never displayed any real magic, and then there's Freeman, talk about a change in direction, I've never seen him this intense, cursing up a storm, he may get a little too `Freemanesque' towards the end but for the most part he comes of as Samuel L. Jackson's cooler, meaner, older brother.
But the real treasure here is Renée Zellweger as Betty, in the early days I thought she was annoying but with this and Bridget Jones she's really showing herself to be one of the best actresses around. There are times when we don't even recognise the performance because we are so wrapped up in the character of Betty. She conveys the loss and subtle fear of the character and her mishmash of emotions excellently and what a shame she didn't pick up any serious awards (I think she got a Golden Globe though) because this is one of the best performances you will see.
LaBute does a good job with the material and the switches between light-hearted fantasy and molasses black humour are handled with expert precision. I haven't seen his previous films `In the Company of Men' or `You're Friends and Neighbours' but after this I might just check them out. But be warned, when I say pitch black comedy I mean it, Nurse Betty has some truly astounding moments but they all add up to the brilliance of the film, and even if the lead up to the ending becomes both tragic and farcical the actual ending is highly rewarding.
Nurse Betty is a film that most might not be in any kind of rush to see, but I urge you to give it a try. It's a funny, sad, darkly comic and deeply serious film full of great characters, writing and direction.
9/10
The actors are also essential in carrying the film, and Nurse Betty has a great ensemble. We have Pruitt Taylor Vince and Crispin Glover as a pair of small town nitwits, Greg Kinnear as TV soap actor George McCord... And then we've got Chris Rock and Morgan Freeman as a couple of two-bit hit men. Rock has shown great promise in his live stand-up routines but until now he's never displayed any real magic, and then there's Freeman, talk about a change in direction, I've never seen him this intense, cursing up a storm, he may get a little too `Freemanesque' towards the end but for the most part he comes of as Samuel L. Jackson's cooler, meaner, older brother.
But the real treasure here is Renée Zellweger as Betty, in the early days I thought she was annoying but with this and Bridget Jones she's really showing herself to be one of the best actresses around. There are times when we don't even recognise the performance because we are so wrapped up in the character of Betty. She conveys the loss and subtle fear of the character and her mishmash of emotions excellently and what a shame she didn't pick up any serious awards (I think she got a Golden Globe though) because this is one of the best performances you will see.
LaBute does a good job with the material and the switches between light-hearted fantasy and molasses black humour are handled with expert precision. I haven't seen his previous films `In the Company of Men' or `You're Friends and Neighbours' but after this I might just check them out. But be warned, when I say pitch black comedy I mean it, Nurse Betty has some truly astounding moments but they all add up to the brilliance of the film, and even if the lead up to the ending becomes both tragic and farcical the actual ending is highly rewarding.
Nurse Betty is a film that most might not be in any kind of rush to see, but I urge you to give it a try. It's a funny, sad, darkly comic and deeply serious film full of great characters, writing and direction.
9/10