Georgia Bernstein Talks “Desire Angle” Behind Immersive And Complex ‘Night Nurse’

If you are in the mood for visually immersive, morally complex narratives with personal flourishes, then Night Nurse might be a film to watch. I highly recommend the picture, which is now out in theaters, and last week I had the pleasure of interviewing filmmaker Georgia Bernstein and actors Cemre Paksoy, Mimi Rogers, and Bruce McKenzie. Check out the post for more details on Night Nurse, and it’s a totally bonkers and enigmatic feature that definitely grabbed my attention!

Night Nurse centers on Eleni (Cemre Paksoy), a mysterious woman who lands a job at a luxury retirement community. She immediately becomes drawn to her patient Douglas (Bruce McKenzie), a manipulator who targets elderly residents with scam calls. Mimi Rogers co-stars as Doctor Mann, a woman who tries to keep things safe and respectable in the community.

Filmmaker Georgia Bernstein was inspired by her late grandmother’s own experience receiving a scam call from a man alleging to be her grandson. Luckily she did not wire money to this criminal, and that instance was part of the elements which started Bernstein on her filmmaking journey.

“I was living in Chicago at the time, and I had rented this little tiny office that was two blocks from my apartment because I was living with my ex,” said Bernstein, whose granmother’s Northbrook, Illinois domicile served as one of the film’s settings. “I have so many memories of writing this script in basically this cubicle. It feels so long ago. Writing the script, maybe it’s the distance, but it doesn’t feel like the most challenging part (of making Night Nurse).”

Bernstein, is also childhood friends with Mimi Rogers’ daughter Lucy Rogers (one of Night Nurse’s producers). Lead actress Cemre Paksoy, who delivers a refreshingly nuanced and magnetic performance as Eleni, is also close friends with Bernstein. The “family affair” description applies to this movie, giving the thriller an added dimension.

“Gemre and I, we talked a lot about backstory for her character, and we had idease of where she worked before,” said Bernstein. “Where she came from, and how she could be in this situation. But it was important to me to represent her character specifically. This idea that she was a bit of a blank slate that was going to be sucked into this cult (and/or) relationship. I did really want the audience to be able to project onto her and experience the movie through her eyes in that way.”

***Full interview with Georgia Bernstein and actors Cemre Paksoy, Mimi Rogers, and Bruce McKenzie

Night Nurse is now playing in theaters. Share your thoughts on the film in the comments!

Check out Bruce Purkey’s Night Nurse review on CinemAddicts: