The Good Doctor (2011 film)

Plot

British medical student Martin E. Blake transfers to a Southern California hospital to start his residency. Martin's main motivation for becoming a doctor is to earn the respect of others. At the start of his residency, Martin is bewildered by a nurse's harsh demeanor towards him. This attitude quickly alienates him from the nurses, whom he perceives as disrespectful. After Martin fails to endear himself to his first few patients and begins to worry about his regard and performance, 18-year-old Diane Nixon comes in suffering from a kidney infection. Diane treats Martin with the kindness and respect that he feels he deserves, fulfilling his motivations. After Martin treats Diane, her family hail Martin as a hero, inflating his self-esteem.

Martin is invited to dinner with Diane's family. Upon arriving to dinner, Martin is disappointed when Diane fails to show. Martin quickly steals a photograph of Diane from her room before departing. As Diane's health continues to improve, Martin visits Diane's home briefly and tampers with her medication, intentionally botching her treatment. Diane returns to the hospital and Martin maintains the illusion that he is doing everything within his power to nurse her back to health. Martin and Diane grow closer while she is in the hospital and they have tender discussions. As Martin continues to secretly intervene with her treatment, Diane's health worsens. One night as Diane and Martin are talking, Diane drifts into sleep and Martin kisses her. The next morning, Martin wakes outside Diane's hospital room to find that he has overslept and that Dianne is in critical condition. He rushes to her bedside where she is receiving CPR and defibrillation. Diane opens her eyes and looks at Martin as she flatlines and dies.

An orderly, Jimmy, discovers a diary in which Diane had recorded her feelings towards Martin. Recognizing that even the implication of an improper doctor-patient relationship could potentially damage Martin's career, Jimmy uses the diary to blackmail Martin into providing him with narcotics. When Jimmy reveals that he intends to never hand over the diary, Martin laces the drugs with potassium cyanide and kills Jimmy, then breaks into his locker and steals the diary.

During the course of the criminal investigation in Jimmy's death, Martin is questioned by a police detective who comes to visit him at his home. Martin becomes panicked and visibly awkward during the questioning, eventually locking himself in the bathroom and attempting to flush the diary down the toilet. When the toilet clogs, Martin climbs out the window and goes to the ocean, where he contemplates suicide. Instead, he sneaks back into his apartment and puts the diary in the garbage. With no evidence to implicate Martin in Jimmy's death, the detective leaves. An unspecified amount of time later, Martin returns to his duties at the hospital, assuring a young patient, "I'm getting better all the time."

Cast

Release

The Good Doctor premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival and was released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 18, 2012.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes reports that 66% of 29 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 6.2/10. On Metacritic, the film has a 52/100 rating based on ten reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Ronnie Scheib of Variety wrote, "Black comedy lurks just below the suspenseful surface, with more than a hint of Lolita-esque absurdity". Sura Wood of The Hollywood Reporter called it "a tense, psychosexual film" with a script that takes too few risks and does not explore Blake's origins satisfactorily.