We follow a nurse during her shift.
Late Shift is a movie that teaches us you don’t want to become a nurse. It’s a lot of stress, responsibility, and you don’t get the connection and fulfillment you believe you’ll have with patients. So this movie is all about not becoming a nurse, and that is sad, isn’t it?
This movie is not about getting to know the patients, the protagonist, or her coworkers. It’s all about the job as a nurse and nothing else. We also see that she is breaking down, and that is hard to watch because of all the stress and the different patients she has to take care of during her hours at work. Some are easier to handle, while others are more demanding, especially the man who nags constantly while she’s working hard from the first second. It’s just her and one colleague on duty, and on top of that, she also has to mentor an up-and-coming nurse. I’m not sure if that new nurse will even want to continue in this profession after a day with the stressed protagonist.
Late Shift is a tiresome movie that becomes scary when you see how overworked the protagonist is. It doesn’t help that the doctors, who should be talking to the patients, don’t do it. Instead, they push her to deliver horrible news about diagnoses. It feels like the protagonist is trapped in an endless nightmare, and when she wakes up the next day, she has to go through the same thing all over again, like in Groundhog Day. Nothing will change, nothing will get better. Being a nurse is a living hell.
The actress playing the protagonist is excellent, and you feel sad for her character as she starts to break down hour after hour because of the stress, the lack of communication, and the lack of help. She runs back and forth constantly. Luckily, she has bought new running shoes, but they get dirty during her shift when she lashes out at one of her patients.
Late Shift is a movie for people who don’t know much about this profession and how hard it is on the body and the psyche. So stop complaining and realize that nurses are doing everything they can. Be angry at the people at the top when you feel you don’t get the attention and care you expect if you’re admitted. This is a movie that honors nurses, and in the end, you respect them and look up to them, but you’ll also wish you never became one of them because of their work environment.