Late Shift (2025), Dir Petra Volpe, Vertigo Releasing, MAC Birmingham, 5☆☆☆☆☆. Review: Matthew Alicoon.

Late Shift (2025), Dir Petra Volpe, Vertigo Releasing, MAC Birmingham,

5☆☆☆☆☆. Review: Matthew Alicoon.

“A night on the ward that compels you to live a nurse’s shift.”

Running Time: 91 Minutes

Late Shift takes us through the night of a young nurse Floria (Leonie Benesch) who serves in an understaffed hospital ward. As the film plays out, we see the various escalations that occur throughout her shift.

Late Shift is a film that intuitively layers its statements on nursing, embedding them within an affectionately structured narrative, that lingers with its gut-wrenching imprint during the conclusion. Petra Volpe’s writing and direction approach to the subject is stellar, striking the balance of empathy and unflinching truthfulness. Volpe’s approach offers a documentary-style immersive feel. Throughout the story, we see Floria’s night rounds and she encounters a spectrum of patients and condition. Each segment interweaves moments of warmth and tenderness; however it is not afraid to show the terrifying escalations.  What is most remarkable is the degree to how every patient in the hospital is humanised. The characters never feel like medical abstractions / representations of concepts, as they are individuals with fully realised identifies with subtle distinctive differences. Among the most resounding sequences are those that show the softer, quieter and overlooked gestures of humanity. A magnificent moment is where Floria and a patient sing a song together, acting as a wonderfully uplifting moment of care. Tenaciously, Volpe never lets these moments stand alone, as heartbreak and grief is enshrouded throughout the film. We see a reformed picture of the psychological toll from Floria, as she moves from patient to patient.

Anchored by Leonie Benesch’s tremendous performance as Floria. Benesch flourishes embodying the role with an authenticity that feels observational rather than performative. There is an exquisite composition Benesch brings to Floria, showing a multifaceted encompassment of resilience and exhaustion in equal parallels. At a number of moments we experience the escalations without dialogue, symbolising the susceptibility of the horrors Floria is seeing.

Where Late Shift exceeds is through Petra Volpe’s structuring of the patient encounters. The meticulously timed introductions, allow each patient to emerge with space allowing for the nurse-patient relationship to be established. A plethora of conditions are showcased including cancer, constipation, and bladder issues.

The film possesses an experimental immersive quality. We are made to inhabit Floria’s night as viewers rather than simply observe it. Each encounter superbly strikes an underlying sense of crisis. The absence of music throughout amplifies the immersion. It shares a striking resemblance to a film release earlier this year entitled  “Warfare”, as Volpe places you into the heart of the nursing ward in a true race against time where endurance and fragility are at the centre.

Late Shift is a film that will compel you to inhabit Floria’s night and live it alongside her. Each encounter feels significantly instrumental to the captivatingly tense story. The film never softens the harsh realities of the ward, however, brilliantly interweaves moments of sentimentally and affection. Petra Volpe has shined a limelight on the values of nurses, showcasing their resilience and profound impact of their work.

Few films so powerfully remind us how struggles can unfold in the quiet corridors of care.

Cast

Leonie Benesch as Floria

Sonja Riesen as Bea Schmid

Selma Aldin as Amelie Afshar

Alireza Bayram as Jan Sharif

Ali Kandaş as Nabil Bilgin

Aline Beetschen as Evelyn Bühler

Jasmin Mattei as Claudia Bach

Urs Bihler as Mr. Leu

Crew

Director – Petra Volpe

Screenwriter – Petra Volpe

Producers – Lukas Hobi & Reto Schaerli

Cinematographer – Judith Kaufmann

Editor – Hansjörg Weißbrich

Music - Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch