The Waiting Room

On a chilly Decembers eve, fighting the start time in my journey to Durham, and braving the fog I ventured to the late night showing of The Waiting Room.  The movie itself closed last night at The Carolina and the adventure was well worth it.  

My first reaction about the movie was ‘not another documentary about american healthcare.  Really? Why?’.  

After the movie made the Oscar documentary shortlist my interest peaked a little as I had only seen 2 (Bully & Searching for Sugarman) on the list of 15. I wanted to expand what I had seen on the list with the nominations about a month away.  

Am I glad I saw this one? Yes.

Would I have seen it had it not been on the list? No

The movie itself examines a California based ER during the course of a 12 hour day shift.  The ER saw primarily patients who are without health insurance.  The filmmakers interview anxious patients sitting in the waiting room as well as overwhelmed ER staff.  

The movie also looks at how patients are turned away for care and sent to the ER due to lack of insurance.  This was presented through patient interviews.

The movie made its point well.  It lacked the over sentimental tear jerker moments that something like Michael Moore’s Sicko or this year’s other healthcare doc Escape Fire went for.  I appreciated that because those moments have been played out in healthcare documentaries.  I was glad my initial reaction of the movie was wrong because I did enjoy seeing this one.  It balanced nicely all the anxieties of the ER, staff and patient alike. 

Come Oscar season it’s a strong contender to make the final 5 documentaries nominated for the Oscar.  

Should it be the victor? Personally I think it deserves the nomination but not the victory.

That’s not a statement against the movie but rather a statement to how highly I regarded Searching for Sugarman.