Review of Nurse Betty (2000) by Mister C — 16 Oct 2005

[B]Nurse Betty[/B] delves into unexpectedly dark and psychological territory. Betty, a waitress in small-town Kansas, is married to an abusive, repressive husband, and finds her escape in being enamored with the soap opera "A Reason To Love", with her fixation on the character Dr. David Ravell. on the show. She's able to vicariously experience romance and excitement, even in something so seemingly trivial. Her husband, Del, is involved with shady dealings at his used car lot, concerning which two bounty hunters have arrived in town. Charlie is nearing the end of his career, and is serving as a mentor to his young apprentice, Wesley.

Betty is witness to very traumatic events, which causes Betty to enter a fugue state, which allows her to continue to function. She takes on entirely different persona, seemingly living in a world where the characters in her soap opera are real. She's become the long-lost ex-fiancee of David, and she undertakes traveling to LA to find him. As Nurse Betty, she is able pursue that which she has meditated upon: fulfillment, not only romantically, but in becoming a nurse, wanting to help people, which Del simply forbade.

When Betty meets George, who plays Dr. Ravell on the show, both he doesn?t see the pathology at work in Betty, but rather a perfectly honed and tenacious performer, seeking stardom in joining the show. While acknowledging the merit of her performance, he allows himself to be profoundly affected by Betty's actions. The difference between performance and reality becomes blurred. In his pursuit of Betty, Charlie becomes similarly fixated on her. He conjures an image of the ideal woman in his eyes, and begins to judge her character based solely on his perception of her.

The film captures the willingness to allow one's perception of someone to persist, as long as it is beneficial or comfortable to yourself. One can love a delusion so much, you're willing to believe that it's real, even when you know it isn't. We're accustomed to not expecting the ideal, but the subconscious desire remains.

Not unlike Neil LaBute's other directorial efforts, there's humor injected into the violence and derisive dialogue. Chris Rock as Wesley is particularly restrained for most of the picture, but appropriately angry humor permeates through. Aaron Eckhart plays a thoroughly contemptible character with zest and twisted humor. Morgan Freeman gives Charlie not only dignity and grace, but an insecurity that's identifiable in Betty, who is for certain one of Renee Zellweger's greatest performances. Crispin Glover also has a memorable, brief appearance, creating some of the film?s funniest moments.

The score by Rolfe Kent successfully merges the theatricality and kitsch of soap operas with an emotionally resonant orchestral theme. The cinematography by Jean-Yves Escoffier is vivid, and accentuates the intensity of the moment. The night photography is beautiful. [b]Nurse Betty[/b] was a surprisingly cerebral comedy, whose unusual premise and performances overcome awkward plot mechanics, as another enjoyable addition to the work of Neil LaBute, whose work I am very much enjoying.