Nurse Betty (2000)

Directed by Neil LaBute. Starring Renée Zellweger, Morgan Freeman, Chris Rock, Greg Kinnear, Tia Texada, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Crispin Glover, Aaron Eckhart, Allison Janney, Elizabeth Mitchell, Kathleen Wilhoite, Harriet Sansom Harris. [R]

After witnessing the gruesome murder of her lout of a husband, waitress Betty (Zellweger) is traumatized to the point of dissociation from reality, confusing the soap opera she obsessively watches with real life. She abruptly heads to the West Coast to meet her favorite character, Dr. David Ravell, played by an actor named George (Kinnear), while her husband’s killers are on her trail, one of whom (Freeman) develops a similarly unhealthy fascination with his quarry. John C. Richards and James Flamberg’s screenplay uses conventional parts from thrillers, road movies, rom-coms, and more to construct something that’s disarmingly original, with several sly surprises along the way, none more surprising than the capacity to find real affection and insight within these kinds of characters and situations, even during the otherwise contrived climax. The nasty, cynical edge that director LaBute is known for is still evident—including a couple instances of startling graphic violence—but there’s cheer and poignancy within the intimate determination. The ending is such a “happy” fantasy that it’s as if it was meant to be another imagined flight of fancy from the sweetly dauntless heroine, but LaBute forgot to film it as one.

82/100