One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (DVD)

...1975 film is quite possibly one of the best films of all time. In all my days (and I say this as though I have inhabited this wonderful planet for much longer than twenty years, but I guess I've packed a lot of films into those twenty years… but anyway, I digress…) no other film has struck me as being so phenomenally well-made, astoundingly directed and with a cast that is absolutely faultless to a man. 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' would certainly ...
...Thankfully, Michael Douglas (yes, the one who is married to Catherine Zeta-Jones) took it upon himself to personally fund the project, bringing in Milos Forman as director. Forman had an extensive background in foreign language films and his career since 'Cuckoo's Nest' has been less than spectacular, but he was certainly the right director for the project. It is interesting that the movie was released in 1975, a date that some could possibly argue ... more

Jack Nicholson is quite a darn good actor, isn't he? Blessed with an ability to make any character come to life and an uncanny knack for seeming absolutely crazy in whatever role he happens to be playing, be it a cop on the edge in 'Chinatown', a lunatic psychotherapist in 'Anger Management' or a make-up wearing gangster (that would be the Joker) in 'Batman'. But it is this film which, for me, stands out as the zenith of Nicholson's long career. This is the film which showcased Nicholson's phenomenal ability as an actor and catapulted him into super-stardom.

Based on Ken Kesey's 1962 novel of the same name (duh), this 1975 film is quite possibly one of the best films of all time. In all my days (and I say this as though I have inhabited this wonderful planet for much longer than twenty years, but I guess I've packed a lot of films into those twenty years… but anyway, I digress…) no other film has struck me as being so phenomenally well-made, astoundingly directed and with a cast that is absolutely faultless to a man. 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' would certainly rank up there in my Top 10 of the best films of all time (now there's a Ciao Café op that I am just itching to do the more I think about it…).

Kesey's novel was something of a landmark text, a novel which opened up the counterculture in many ways and heralded the dawn of a new era in American popular culture. It was in many ways a harbinger of things to come, a suggestion of what American society was going to be like, an indication of the way American society was going and how it was eroding the free spirits of the American people. This movie, released thirteen years after the book, had been in the planning stages for years but due to financial troubles and a plethora of other difficulties, progress had been long delayed. Thankfully, Michael Douglas (yes, the one who is married to Catherine Zeta-Jones) took it upon himself to personally fund the project, bringing in Milos Forman as director. Forman had an extensive background in foreign language films and his career since 'Cuckoo's Nest' has been less than spectacular, but he was certainly the right director for the project. It is interesting that the movie was released in 1975, a date that some could possibly argue was the end of the counterculture, an end of an era, when American had been beaten down by the hypocrisy of its leadership and a series of cultural earthquakes, such as the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert, the war in Vietnam, the collapse of the Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson and the disgrace of the Nixon administration in the aftermath of Watergate. America by 1975 was a different world to the one in 1962 when Kesey was first writing his masterpiece and this is something highly ironic about the piece.

The plot of the film is thus: things are going swimmingly (or so it seems) at a mental institution. Everything seems to be operating as it should. Nurse Mildred Ratched (Louise Fletcher) runs the ward with an iron fist, stressing rules, discipline and conformity. There is a strong sense of uniformity among the patients and any sense of individuality seems to be long gone. That is until Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) arrives on the ward, having claimed to be mentally ill in order to avoid work on a prison farm. McMurphy is a conman and a livewire and he immediately picks up on the boredom and uniformity of the patients and brings a new vitality and freshness to the lives of the patients, something that has been sadly lacking. He encourages rebellion and freedom among the patients, bringing him into direct confrontation with Nurse Ratched, who is constantly trying to reassert her authority and return the ward to some semblance of discipline. There then follows a series of set pieces which emphasise the power struggle between McMurphy and Ratched as both vie for control of the ward and of the lives of the patients.

The cuckoo's nest itself is a metaphor for a larger society made up of rules, stipulations, regulations and conformity. The mental institution in which the film is set is a microcosm for society at large. The patients there are sterile, detached from reality and with lives that are dictated by Nurse Ratched, controlled by the system. The movie deals with some very basic yet important themes, such as individuality and, on a larger scale, the struggle between good and evil. The theme of breaking loose versus conformity is also tackled.

One thing that makes this movie so fantastic is the quality of the characters and the cast who bring them to life. Nicholson shines as McMurphy, a role he was seemingly born to play. McMurphy is a 'free spirit', a rebel, a cowboy, a nonconformist, a representative of the counter-culture, pointing out that the true insanity lies in the absurdity of the rules enforces by Nurse Ratched and the system at large. McMurphy shows the patients that their problems are caused by the order and discipline and they should try to break free rather than continue to have their individuality and sense of being stifled. Nicholson is truly amazing as McMurphy, this being one of his best, if not his all-time best, performance on the big screen. He deservedly won a Best Actor Oscar for his efforts.

Also scooping one of the big prizes at the Oscars was Louise Fletcher, who won Best Actress for her portrayal of Nurse Ratched. Fletcher's performance is absolutely stunning, rivaling that of Nicholson's. Cold, calculated and cunning, Ratched is one of the most sinister movie villains of all time. The fact that she pretends to be on the side of the patients and to have their best interests at heart is appalling when we see that she really has no empathy for them, and is only manipulating them to decisions that she thinks are 'proper', i.e. the decisions that only serve to enforce the rigid discipline that she has put into place on the ward. She gives a phoney sense of control among the patients, making them feel like they are making their own decisions and are experiencing participatory democracy when really she is manipulating their mental illnesses and their simplicity of thinking in the most cruel and divisive of manners. Ratched is seen as the ultimate organizer, whose systematic, military-style code of discipline has stifled the humanity of the patients (or inmates, whichever way you look at it). Ratched is a work of pure evil, and Fletcher brings her to life with her cool, understated performance.

Nicholson and Fletcher are backed up by a stunning supporting cast, including among the patients Danny DeVito (Martini), William Redfield (Harding), Will Sampson (Chief Bromden), Brad Dourif (Billy Bibbit), Christopher Lloyd (Taber), Sydney Lassick (Charlie Cheswick) and Vincent Schiavelli (Frederickson). Each actor manages to bring their respective characters to life in such a vibrant and colourful manner and we see a strong sense of humanity in each of the patients once McMurphy comes and wakes them out of their slumber, so to speak, making them real people as opposed to the mindless automatons Ratched would have them be. Scatman Crothers (from 'The Shining') puts in an appearance as an orderly who allows McMurphy and co. to throw a party at night, with devastating results. Dourif gives a stunning performance as the mild-mannered Billy, a 31-year old man with the mind of an adolescent, and it is the care McMurphy has for Billy that acts as the catalyst for the devastating ending of the movie. Every single cast member gives a note-perfect performance, which is something so rare in modern movies. That alone makes this movie a classic.

It is interesting to note that the novel is written from the perspective of Chief Bromden, who appears to be deaf and dumb and for much of the film remains in the background while the other, more talkative patients take the limelight. However, Bromden is symbolic of indirect protest, understanding that he cannot fight the system directly but must play along with it and cooperate with it for the time being. He is biding his time and waiting for the right moment to break loose, rather than proactively rebelling against the system, as McMurphy does. Interestingly enough, Kesey was infuriated by the decision by Forman and Douglas to change the perspective of the story from Bromden's to McMurphy's, and indeed Bromden remains very much a background character for most of the film until he gets to interact one-on-one with McMurphy.

The direction of the film is flawless, each shot having such delicate power that it seems almost effortless. Forman was undoubtedly the best man for the job. There are many scenes which stand out as being expertly crafted, timeless moments of cinema, among them the film's shocking conclusion, McMurphy gathering the patients/inmates around a blank television screen and pretending the watch a baseball game after Ratched had denied them the opportunity to watch the World Series (despite the patients democratically voting 10-8 in favour of watching the game), McMurphy taking the patients on a sailing trip and passing the patients off as doctors, and the moment McMurphy realizes the truth about Chief Bromden. McMurphy is indeed the force that propels the film and all the interaction revolves around him, it is his presence that allows the patients to break free from the sterility of their lives, but at a heavy price.

The message of the movie is somewhat mixed. Granted, we see the sheer joy and exuberance of the patients when they are 'set loose', so to speak, by McMurphy, but the ultimate message of the movie, and of the text, is that society cannot tolerate genuine free spirit. Society is all about organization, and law and order must win out. The ending of the film, the specifics of which I won't give away, is quite brutal in the manner in which is indicates that rebellion will not be tolerated. Society and conformity, symbolized by Nurse Ratched, seems to crush any rebellion against the traditional order. Individualism has its cost, Kesey suggests, indicating that society (and by extension institutions, big businesses, bureaucracies, the military, the police) cannot tolerate freedom as it is in direct opposition to the rules that are in place.

I believe that 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' is inarguably one of the greatest films of all time. It is hard trying to think of a fault in the entire film. Some critics have observed that the film is extremely misogynistic in its treatment of women, which is a load of baloney, while others have pointed to the imbalance of having a criminal as the hero and a nurse who is trying to do her job as the villain. This argument is also flawed, as we know that Nicholson is a criminal so he is not the conventional hero by any means, but his role is not as this shining example of a great human being, but more as rebel against society, a free spirit who can act on the best interests of the people around him. And indeed, McMurphy can at times be frustrating and sometimes can appear quite selfish. The criticism of McMurphy's status as the 'hero' of the movie is somewhat misguided. Ditto that of Ratched - we know she is a nurse trying to do her best and we are led to believe that she genuinely thinks that order, discipline and conformity are the best ways to help mentally ill people. However, it is the manner in which she does this and manipulates the patients/inmates that forces her into the conventional role of 'villain'.

If you haven't already seen this film then I strongly recommend you check it out as you are really missing out by not treating yourself to watching this stunning masterpiece. A truly great film.

'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' is available from Amazon.co.uk for £7.97 

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