Late Shift review: A stress-inducing medical drama
The idea of following a nurse during a single shift sounds like it could be mundane, but it’s nothing of the sort in Petra Volpe‘s medical drama Late Shift.
Set in a short-staffed Swiss hospital, the film follows a capable, motivated nurse named Floria (Leonie Benesch) who is prevented from doing a good job because of her working conditions. Floria has an impossible amount of tasks to do and patients to see, and the jobs keep stacking up. The patients are getting impatient with the wait, everything is a top priority, and she simply can’t be in two places at once.
Late Shift is an intense, immersive and stressful experience that places you in Floria’s shoes as she dashes down corridors, rushes around the medicine room and checks in on her patients. The shift begins quite normally, but soon enough, the tasks begin to build up and she soon has a backlog of things to do, all while carrying out her rounds, answering the phone and collecting patients from surgery. If that wasn’t enough, she has to approach patients with a kind and friendly demeanour, even if they’re complaining about the wait.
The film ends with a warning about a worldwide shortage of nurses over the next decade, and it’s hardly surprising. I was stressed out just watching Floria. I had a visceral reaction; my body clenched, and I didn’t breathe properly for the second half. I don’t know how nurses put up with this stress every day. I hope everybody watches Late Shift and comes away treating nurses with more kindness, patience and respect.
Benesch, who impressed me with her performances in September 5 and The Teachers’ Lounge, is perfectly cast here. The way she moves around the hospital, organises medicine and deals with patients is so precise and specific and I fully believed her as a nurse. The work is relentless, and she is constantly on the go, with the camera following her every step of the way. You feel so much compassion for her.
Late Shift is an intense and dynamic medical drama that shines a light on how overworked, underappreciated and underpaid nurses truly are. This should be required viewing everywhere.
In cinemas from Friday 1st August
To read my interview with Petra Volpe, see here.
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