Undeniably Uplifting, Potent and Beautifully Lyrical A Genuine All-American Masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (8 April 2006)

No group of Hollywood filmmakers and actors could come across such a dark satirical portrait on mental illness, rebellion and organizational authority and make it a revolutionary landmark film like ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. Based on the 1962 bestseller by Ken Kessey, Milos Forman breaks new grounds in the art of film-making. He flawlessly blends astute cinematography, an outstanding adapted screenplay, rhythmical pacing and remarkably first-rate performances by two stellar leads and an authentic ensemble cast.
When anarchistic petty crook Randall Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is taken to a mental institution to be evaluated, he instantly develops silent yet tenacious animosity toward deceitful, stubborn Nurse Mildred Ratched (Louise Fletcher). As a sign of the rebellious, flamboyant, defiant individual he always has been, he acquaints his fellow mental patients with actual life outside their wards.
Jack Nicholson's tour de force is here in his Oscar-winning role as R. P. McMurphy, the audacious rebel who liberates the group of impressionable mental patients from living in solitude. Among this group of inmates includes "deaf and dumb" noble Native American Chief (Will Sampson) who becomes McMurphy's loyal accomplice. McMurphy understands what the patients lust for and he encourages them in the best way he knows how: baseball, fishing and a night of debauchery. He wreaks even more disorder to a carefully laid system for his and the patients' benefit much to the dismay and chagrin of Miss Ratched.
Louise Fletcher also receives a well-deserved Academy award as the very manipulative Nurse Ratched. Many argue that her performance was bland but she blew me away conveying one of the most despicable women in the history of film. Her neurotic feelings of repressed sexuality are cleverly masked by cool, authoritative facade and icy stares. She is entirely apathetic and insusceptible to the needs of others and her biggest concern is making herself the psychosomatic leader of the ward. Her reluctance for McMurphy to outdo her escalates to a heart-stopping climax.
Each member of the supporting cast gives incredibly genuine interpretations to their character. It is amazing how every one of those chaotic (proven by their regular hectic group therapy sessions) patients have their own story to tell behind their convalescence. The patients are motivated by McMurphy, even if they aren't completely aware of their actions by the exposition of propaganda Randall takes. In a way, they become cured through Randall's behavior.
With a phenomenal unofficial screenplay by Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman and poetic momentum and character development, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST still upholds its title as one of the most potent pieces of the big screen of the 20th century.