LATE SHIFT Review: Nursing Care Under an Overwhelming Workload

For many middle-class viewers, Late Shift (orig. Heldin) may well resemble a kind of "horror" film, not because it belongs to the genre, but because of its unflinching realism, which exposes the unsettling normality of everyday labour.

Written and directed by Swiss filmmaker Petra Volpe, Late Shift is set and shot in the Cantonal Hospital Baselland in Basel-Landschaft. Within this confined space, multiple events unfold simultaneously. Floria Linde (an impressively understated Leonie Benesch) is a veteran nurse working a late shift on the third floor, where she is responsible for patients recovering from surgery or suffering from serious, often cancer-related, conditions.

With only two nurses on duty (the other being Bea Schmid, played by Sonja Riesen), Floria's workload quickly becomes overwhelming. Beyond monitoring patients' vital signs, she must also supervise new interns, guiding them through the demands of clinical efficiency.

Through Floria's perspective, the film presents a cross-section of hospital life: a dying mother cherishing her remaining time with family (Lale Yavas); an elderly woman with dementia whose daughter lives far away (Margherita Schoch); a lonely senior anxious about his deteriorating health (Urs Bihler); and a young foreign patient seemingly indifferent to his condition (Urbain Guiguemdé). These fragments accumulate into a quietly devastating portrait of care commonly seen in our everyday life.

Amid this relentless and overstretched shift, Floria is constantly called upon by multiple patients, leaving her barely a moment to rest or eat. Through this, Volpe constructs a vivid ecosystem of hospital labour, exposing the harsh reality of chronic understaffing in Switzerland's healthcare sector. At the same time, the film also raises questions about how patient care might be improved by recognising the physical and psychological burden placed on nurses.

Benesch's performance is strikingly convincing. It is evident that she has invested considerable effort in mastering the physical procedures of nursing, lending authenticity to every gesture. Her portrayal is meticulous and inward: when confronted with complaints or repetitive demands, Floria suppresses her emotions, channelling them instead into the precision of her work. Whether filling vials, checking temperatures, or moving between patients, she absorbs emotional strain and translates it into disciplined action, maintaining a fragile balance between professional control and internal exhaustion.

Although the narrative unfolds over the course of a single shift, Volpe sustains tension through tight dramaturgical rhythm and a pared-back visual style. Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch's score subtly reinforces this rhythm, guiding the viewer through an almost seamless flow of scenes.

Cinematographer Judith Kaufmann employs a shallow focus and maintains a measured distance from the characters, avoiding the close-ups and rapid cuts that might otherwise intensify drama. Editor Hansjörg Weibrich favours long takes that follow Floria's movements, stitching together different spaces with a sense of immediacy and continuity.

While one might anticipate a dramatic breaking point, Volpe resists such conventions. Even when Floria briefly acts on impulse, the film refrains from sensationalising the moment, sustaining an emotionally restrained tone.

Rather than offering escapism or resolution, Late Shift presents a sober reflection on contemporary labour conditions that mirrors the experience of many workers in high-pressure environments: how individuals continue to function within demanding systems while striving to preserve both their professionalism and their sense of self. What lingers, in the end, is not collapse but care -- a fragile network of human connection, expressed through small, often overlooked gestures of empathy.

The film opens Friday, March 20, only in U.S. movie theaters, via Music Box Films. Visit their official site for locations and showtimes.