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‘A Mistake’ Review: Surgeon Elizabeth Banks Gets Blamed for a Patient’s Death in an Effective Drama on Medical Ethics
In her first feature since 'Sunshine Cleaning,' Christine Jeffs returns with a film about public transparency and medical ethics.
Though not a knockout, the director’s return affirms her knack for intelligent adult drama, here hinging on issues of medical ethics and bureaucracy — Elizabeth Banks plays an Auckland surgeon whose reputation and career are threatened when a patient dies after what had been anticipated as a routine procedure. The distractingly named Elizabeth Taylor (Banks) is a highly regarded specialist, woken from a nap during one long night-shift by an emergency: A patient previously discharged as having minor ailments is re-admitted with severe abdominal pain, which the doctor judges as requiring immediate surgery. Beyond the potential derailing of her own vocation (though even Andrew admits she’s “absolutely brilliant”), Liz must cope with Richard’s panicked unraveling; unexpected disloyalty from girlfriend Robin (Mickey Sumner), a nurse who distances herself both professionally and personally at the first sign of trouble; having to take care of her sister’s dog on short notice; and an insect infestation that turns her home into a source of additional stress.
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