Review of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) by Lucas Y — 14 Mar 2013
A masterpiece and personal favorite of mine. While the story & direction are excellent, the performances are what make this so special. Jack Nicholson was born to play the rebel McMurphy, one of the greatest movie characters ever.
Probably my second favorite performance of his behind Jack Torrance, just because that character evolved so much. His chemistry with Louise Fletcher, the cold Nurse Ratched is so fun to watch. The scene where Cheswick goes ape shit over his cigarettes is key to displaying how much they hate each other.
Ratched had officially lost control and knew McMurphy was in charge at that point, hence the first shock treatment. Fletcher is amazing in this, simply because the character was so one dimensional, yet executed remarkably.
Her icy cold stair, soft voice and ability to never overreact is incredible. At no point in this film did I feel she was that bad of a person, until the end when she threatens Billy. Cuckoo's Nest is very alpha male throughout, with the only likeable female characters being whores.
The relationship between McMurphy and the crazies makes your heart ache though. He'll do anything to make them feel like free men, normal men and not adapt to Ratched's dictatorship. Pretty much every scene is powerful and rewarding, but the last 3 are the most.
The morning after the big party when Billy tells Ratchet he had no regrets as the rest of the crazies cheer him on is beautiful, only to be followed by tragedy, which leads to McMurphy finally having enough of Ratched.
Then the next scene we see a changed nurse Ratched. She seems humbled. The patients have their cigarettes. She greets the new patient with warmth and compassion. At that point we realize McMurphy won, but at a cost.
The final scene with the Chief putting McMurphy out of a lifetime of being a vegetable is heart breaking, yet beautiful, only to be followed by one of the greatest shots in film history, the Chief running into the woods on an eerie Oregon morning.
This review of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) was written by Lucas Y on 14 Mar 2013.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has generally received very positive reviews.
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