Our take
Five Days at Memorial recalls the real and horrifying events that went on at a New Orleans hospital during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Over the course of five days, the caregivers in charge try their best to evacuate thousands of people from the building, but heavy floods, power outages, intense heat, and a sorry lack of planning result in some heartbreaking decisions about the fate of their patients.
The ongoing series is a gut-wrenching and at times excruciating watch, adeptly directed by John Ridley (American Crime) and absorbingly moored by a cast that includes Vera Farmiga (Conjuring)—by now an expert at exhibiting pure horror—and Cherry Jones (Succession).
The story
When the floodwaters rose, power failed, and heat soared, exhausted caregivers at a New Orleans hospital were forced to make profound, heart-wrenching decisions.
Elsewhere
"If you have the stomach to dig into a nightmarish tale of systemic failure and murky medical ethics, you’ll be rewarded with truly masterly performances. You’ll also be filled with sorrow and rage."
— Rachel Syme
"The show strives for a kind of operatic pitch that bridges the gap between the recognizable and the unthinkable. It’s a combination that mostly works, but sometimes becomes as murky as the real-life saga it’s trying to honor."
— Steve Greene
The details
Who picked it
Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She's also seen You've Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it's one of the greatest films out there.
