CARRY ON NURSE...
REMEMBER the terrifying nurse from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, who terrorised and tortured Jack Nicholson and the rest of the psych ward inhabitants, not to mention half the staff?
Well, that was one Mildred Ratched – and this new Netflix series is her origin story. We first meet the young nurse in 1947, applying for a job at a leading and experimental psychiatric hospital in Northern California. Well, not so much applying; more tricking, manipulating and blackmailing her way into a position, all whilst seeming like the most dedicated and professional nurse possible. “One of God’s angels,” no less. So what exactly turned her into the psycho monster we all know and hate?
This stylish and sinister series comes from TV powerhouse Ryan Murphy, who created a host of huge shows including Glee,
Pose, and American Horror Story, and there’s plenty of his theatrical and colourful style in evidence.
Sarah Paulson gives a powerhouse performance as Mildred Ratched. All repressed menace and high-fashion outfits (which we find out she’s shoplifted), calm in the face of chaos, terrifyingly unemotional, not averse to a bit of coldblooded violence and rubbish at sexual role play.
The first episode seems relatively tame in terms of the gory violence, mental and medical torture hinted at in the trailer, but there’s no doubt it’s coming.
Just because the hospital looks like a five star hotel full of fancy chandeliers, don’t go imagining there isn’t a whole lot of creepy weirdness going on behind the scenes.