The filmmaker credit isn’t simply attributed to Roshan Sethi. No, The Surgeon was written and directed by Roshan Sethi, MD. It’s a distinction he obviously earned, but also one that says you can trust the meticulously executed violence on-screen. Just because the action is presented in an unorthodox way as a means of entertainment beyond generic gunplay and knife fights doesn’t mean it’s also not an appreciation of how much the best doctors in the world know about the human body. If they wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead.
With those sentiments comes the stereotypical notion that surgeons are inherently cold-hearted simply because they can gaze into the viscera beneath our skin with steady hands and calm minds. So, it won’t shock you to discover Dr. Elisa Lin (Michelle Yeoh) is superficially drawn in that mold. Whether a flashback to her youth freaking out other residents by stitching oranges at lunch before consuming them or scenes from the present of her failed attempts to connect with other human beings on a personal level, she wouldn’t beat the accusations.
That doesn’t, however, mean they are true. All we need to prove this is an anecdote from a nurse (Dónall Ó Héalaí’s Jim) about how she tried to resuscitate a patient using CPR for over an hour. Lin cares about people—especially those she operates on. It’s just that she can also shut off her emotions to excel at a physical task. Pump Thin Lizzy through the OR speakers, put a scalpel in her hand, and watch a magician work. She will do whatever is necessary to save you. And, if she can’t, she’ll ensure you know it’s time to accept the inevitable.
Heck, she’s had to accept it herself after a successful forty-year career. In many ways retirement is death for people like Lin who gave their every waking minute to the job. Now she’s sitting at home sewing and crafting to keep her hands busy despite the hospital no longer wanting to risk the inevitable deterioration that occurs after age sixty. I’m honestly surprised Sethi didn’t make her excited to wake up after being kidnapped. Sure, it’s scary and disorienting, but it’s also a reprieve from her new monotonous routine.
According to her captor (Yuri Kolokolnikov’s Cole), her life will be preserved if she preserves the life of his employer. They collected her medical bag of tools and secured all the necessary scrubs and gloves to approximate her old working conditions as best as they could. Here’s the chart. Here’s the body. Now go to town. Except, of course, that she’s not allowed to see the anesthesiologist or the patient. Oh, there’s also an armed chaperone in the room (Laurie Davidson’s Ben) to keep things moving and alleviate any fears.
Just like she analyzed her surgeries to the letter, however, she’s surely analyzing her current predicament. Cole has already shown his face, so it’s reasonable to assume they will kill her regardless of what they say. If that’s the case, why not weaponize their desperation? Their inability to take her life before the surgery is complete opens a door for Lin to try and steal some agency back. So, a game of chicken commences. One that places Cole in a precarious position himself. Will it work? Will it backfire? Will it earn her more time?
The result isn’t without its surprises as everyone on-screen is up to playing this dangerous game of life or death. Not even the man on the table could begrudge them for having a little fun since he’d be the first to do so if the tables were turned. He’s an obvious man of means with enough muscle around him to presume he’s no stranger to toying with the lives of others. Sethi confirms as much by having him wake post-op in the most violent way possible. The body can always betray a mouth’s words if you know where to look.
I won’t ruin who the patient is since the reveal provides a nice laugh for those aware that this isn’t his usual role (although he’s dabbled with playing heavies in recent years). Just know that it works. He’s good as this mob-boss character who has no qualms putting a bullet in the head of anyone in the room to either shut them up or set an example for someone else. Regardless of all that bluster, however, he’s still the same skeleton of decaying flesh as the rest. Lin doesn’t need to know who he is because it’s meaningless to biology.
Sethi has a blast bringing this fact to life by constantly projecting a real-time internal scan onto Lin’s victims. Yeoh is too as she talks about the tendons and nerves that she’s about to target before the owner can consider the implications. It leads to some wonderful slapstick interactions as this character is absorbed by the genre. She isn’t John Wick or one of the many martial arts characters she’s played over the years. Lin is a surgeon. Her weapons of choice are medical instruments and an encyclopedic knowledge of human anatomy.
The precision at which she works leaves foes with flapping limbs and gurgling sounds as they futilely try to perform whatever basic function that she prevented from ever happening again. Every character—even book club Bill (Joseph Mydell)—is here to get wrapped up in what becomes a battle to the death between two people unused to relinquishing control. Whether you see it as convenient or efficient is up to you. I call it a good time at the cinema. It might not break new ground, but it tweaks the formula enough to not care.
The Surgeon premiered at TIFF 2026.
