One Flew over the Cuckoo's nest - Review. Review on One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Movie

One of the fascinating movies that I have seen, this movie has great performances, wonderful screenplay, and a story that touches us. On another level, this movie can be seen as a study of human interests and conflicts.

The one liner plot is something like this “What happens when a free-spirited, lightning tongued con man comes amongst a set of mentally disturbed people?” This question leads to a fine story, which is narrated well.

Randle P. McMurphy comes to a mental asylum. He has faked mental illness and has been sent to see if he is really ill. On arrival, his free spiritedness and disorderly nature slowly forms an effect on the patients. Nurse Ratched is “the Boss” inside the hospital and McMurphy disturbs all the carefully built order of the nurse. This is the basic premise of the conflicts that come up in the movie. McMurphy takes charge of a set of patients in his own way and shows them the world as they have not seen it in a long time. In the process, he violates all rules. This leads to other developments and an end which is together sad and liberating.

Jack Nicholson plays McMurphy with a charm that is unique to him. I have watched him play abnormal characters with a natural ease. There is a sequence where he looks at the camera for a long time and smiles slowly. This is a powerful and impressive scene which conveys a lot of things. Equally powerful is Louise Fletcher, as nurse Ratched. It is to be noted that both the lead actors got Oscars for their performances. The case also includes Danny De Vito, Christopher Lloyd, and Brad Daurif in his film debut.

The conflict between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched, which forms the crux of the story, also gives us a lot to think of. Each one of us want liberation of some sort. It may be with respect to our work, personal life or something to do with spirituality. The movie shows how small changes in daily routine can help in rekindling one’s spirit. We also question the motive and the means of action of the Nurse and other administrators who run the hospital. The movie ends with a refreshing sense of freedom, which is aptly depicted by the title. Grab a DVD and watch the movie. One should not miss amazing stuff like this.