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CINEMA

WRITTEN BY

A MISTAKE (2024)

MPAA: R.
Release Date: 09/20/24 [Cinemas]
Genre: Drama. Thriller.

Studio: Quiver Distribution. 

"After a group of criminals kidnap the ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, they retreat to an isolated mansion, unaware that they're locked inside with no normal little girl." 

OUR MOVIE REVIEW:

A Mistake is not for the faint of heart or the viewer with a weak stomach. The opening sequence of the film quickly finds us in an operating room featuring a lengthy graphic surgery scene. It just grows heavier by the minute with many trigger warnings to be known: death, loss of a pet, and suicide. 

 

Surgeon Elizabeth “Liz” Taylor (Elizabeth Banks) is a mentor and educator for Dr. Richard Whitehead (Richard Crouchley) —referred to as a “registrar” which is understood to be a young professional still in training. During an emergency surgery of a young woman experiencing sepsis, a life-threatening complication of infection, Liz gives Richard direction that results in a mishap that causes major problems during surgery. Liz is able to recover from the mishap and gets the patient out of surgery and into the ICU to recover. However, the patient succumbed to her situation and passed away shortly after. This snowballs the film into a series of events where character’s decisions are questioned, hospital and surgery policies are reconsidered; in addition to corporate cover ups, and the human condition of struggling to cope or rationalize outcomes is deeply explored. This has been the first time I’ve witnessed Banks tackle a serious role and she carries its harshness and sincerity with grace.

 

With this style of filmmaking there’s a struggle to know who the audience is—who would seek out a drama like this? An extremely despairing and difficult depiction of the worst parts of the possible hospital experience, as someone who works within the field. Maybe it could be used as a cathartic release or a relatable circumstance for a surgeon or other medical professional, but from an outsider’s perspective it’s a disheartening drama about the medical system. A Mistake is heavy material and I warn anyone who plans to watch it to prepare themselves for an emotional ride. 

OUR VERDICT:

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