Review #630 - One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
THE SCOOP
Director: Milos Forman
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Danny DeVito, Peter Brocco, Michael Berryman
Plot: Upon arrival at a mental institution, a brash rebel rallies the patients together to take on the oppressive Nurse Ratched, a woman more a dictator than a nurse.
Plot: Upon arrival at a mental institution, a brash rebel rallies the patients together to take on the oppressive Nurse Ratched, a woman more a dictator than a nurse.
Genre: Drama
Awards: Won 5 Oscars - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Lead Actor, Best Lead Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay. Nom. for 4 Oscars - Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score.
Runtime: 133min
Rating: PG for strong language and some disturbing content.
IN RETROSPECT (Spoilers: NO)
One of
the great directors who have made the effortless change from European cinema to
the glamour of Hollywood, Milos Forman has two Best Directing Oscars to show
for his achievement in two extraordinary films whose fame would forever be
indebted to the highly-respected filmmaker from Czechoslovakia – Amadeus (1984) and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
The
latter stars Jack Nicholson in an Oscar-winning performance playing Randall
McMurphy, a lazy troublemaker who has a history of violence and now fakes
insanity that allows him to be committed to a local mental institution.
Randall’s
arrival shakes things up in the mental institution. He makes friends with a deaf and mute
American-Indian called Chief Bromden (Will Sampson) and establishes a love-hate
relationship with Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), the institution’s
dictatorial head nurse.
Always
up to mischief, Randall’s rebellious nature sees him heavily involved in a
series of situations leading up to the film’s shatteringly powerful climax that
is not only emotional wrenching, but oddly inspirational as well. With an
exceptional supporting cast of “mental patients” played by talented character
actors such as Danny DeVito and Brad Dourif, Forman’s film is a tour de force
in ensemble acting.
Both a
brilliant behavioral comedy and an intricate drama, Cuckoo’s Nest blends strong character interplay
with moments of side-splitting situational humor such as the iconic scene of
Randall playing foolishly with the water cooler. The sequence that still takes my breath away
no matter how many times I see it is the one that starts with Charley Cheswick
(Sydney Lassick) pleading Nurse Ratched to return his cigarettes and ends in
utter chaos involving nearly everyone in the madhouse.
Although
the film pokes fun at the unfortunate lives of shackled mental patients, by the
end of the film, Forman’s sensitive direction would have allowed us to observe
the dehumanizing effects of institutionalization.
Cuckoo’s Nest explores themes of morality,
humanity and friendship through its anti-hero and villain. Randall who yearns
for freedom in the institution wages physical and psychological warfare with
Nurse Ratched, who is hell-bent in enforcing strict rules and regulations. Some would argue that the head nurse is just
doing her job, but by the film’s climax, she turns into one of American
cinema’s coldest and most cruel villains.
While
the film is shot from the point-of-view of Chief, Randall remains to be our
anti-hero and our rallying point against oppressive authority. Yet, we occasionally feel that the ruckus he
creates borders on lunacy, to the point that it might be difficult to defend
his actions.
Therein lies the brilliance of Forman’s film – the development of a complex protagonist and antagonist whose roles interchange depending on the circumstance. There is no clear case of black or white in this film, which makes it an experience to savor even on its umpteen viewing. Cuckoo’s Nest is a must-watch for all cinephiles and is most certainly one of the great American films of the seventies. Highly recommended.
GRADE: A+
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