Review: Elizabeth Banks shines in the New Zealand medical drama A Mistake

New Zealand film A mistake – like so many of our films – shies away from the obvious pros and cons, although it is partly a story about our habit of looking for someone to blame when something goes wrong.

Especially in the event of a medical mishap.

We meet Elizabeth Taylor – a rare female surgeon in a male-dominated field – as she operates on a young patient.

We’ve seen this in countless hospital dramas, but director Christine Jeffs and her cinematographer partner John Toon do an excellent job following the procedure right up to the point when something goes wrong and how Elizabeth deals with it.

Crucially, it wasn’t just an operation, but a training exercise for Elizabeth’s junior Richard – not just in the theater but also in dealing with the family afterwards.

There is more than one flaw in this complex and compelling story.

Elizabeth is played by American actress Elizabeth Banks, who is best known for her comedy work – as an actress in The Hunger Games And Pitch perfectmost recently directing films like Cocaine bear.

Actually, I was more reminded of Cate Blanchett as the conductor in Tár – another strong woman in a man’s world, with the slight sense of entitlement that comes with that.

The point is how unsettling a mistake at work can be when it’s literally a matter of life and death. Even the word “mistake” hardly suffices when dealing with people whose first experience with major surgery is so harrowing.

This is made clear by the brilliant performances of Rena Owen and Matthew Sunderland as the grieving parents.

The closest thing to a villain A mistake is Simon McBurney as Elizabeth’s devious boss, who is fully capable of putting dispensable colleagues in their place in order to protect the hospital’s reputation.

But A mistake This is not about pointing fingers at easy culprits or letting anyone off the hook. It’s a beautifully thoughtful depiction of the impact of a seemingly minor misjudgment.

It’s a beautiful work from director Christine Jeffs – who also adapted Carl Shuker’s novel – and an absolutely perfect performance from Elizabeth Banks.