Open Heart (2004) (TV)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Laurie Lynd

Writer:

Raymond Storey (written by)

Release Date:

24 October 2004 (Canada)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Things appear to be looking up for a cash-strapped, regional hospital when it hires a reputedly brilliant...

Plot Keywords:

Nurse | Medical Malpractice | Heart Surgery | Heart Surgeon | Girl In Bra And Panties

Awards:

6 nominations

Cast

Megan Follows	...	Sherry Cardinal
Raoul Bhaneja	...	Alan Kenning
Kim Roberts	...	Lynn Riddick
Nicole Maillet	...	Katie Cardinal
Roxanne Jean	...	Lise Beauchamps
Russell Yuen	...	Peter Lee (also as Russel Yuen)
Vincent Walsh	...	Mark Gover
Karl Pruner	...	Dale Wyman
Joseph Ziegler	...	Gunther Bericht
Athena Lamarre	...	Tanya Mallory
Lisa Gallant	...	Karen Blackstock
Lita Llewellyn	...	Nikki
Victoria Snow	...	Marjorie Bain
Kate Lynch	...	Violet Wells
Ilkay Silk	...	Counsellor

Also Known As:

À coeur ouvert (Canada: French title)
Cradle Will Fall (Canada: English title) (working title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

UK:12

Filming Locations:

Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

Company:

Barna-Alper Productions

Worth a look

Open Heart is a believable story about what might happen to a nurse who asks too many questions. Sherry Cardinal (Megan Follows) works in pediatric surgery at a busy New Brunswick hospital. The cautious, careful Sherry quickly clashes with the arrogant, breezy new surgeon Dr. Kenning (Raoul Bhaneja), whose reputation seem too good to be true. Tragically, many of his very sick young patients do not survive their surgeries. Were their deaths inevitable, or does the doctor have more bravado than experience?

The characters are familiar to anyone who has ever worked in the medical field: the overconfident hotshot, the blindly unreceptive superior, the cynical, stressed-out underling, and the tight-lipped colleagues. It's portrayal of an insular, rigidly class-conscious staff is quite accurate, and it conveys well the demigod status of physicians and the chilly exclusion shown to dissenters. Unfortunately some plot contrivances, obviously telegraphed scenes and over-dramatic moments detract from the movie's strengths.

Despite its shortcomings I recommend this film to anyone concerned about Canada's health-care situation, since it offers an accurate look at some of the dilemmas that thinly-spread staff often face. Hopefully it won't scare patients away from hospitals but will instead give a better understanding of the staff's viewpoint, enabling patients to know their rights and stand up for themselves.