Surviving the Nut House ***

Rating: 8/10 (9 March 2006)

Jack Nicholson's first Oscar winning performance as a patient in a mental institution.
Based on Ken Kesey's best seller, we come to realize that the heads of these institutions are in desperate need themselves. This movie correctly showed what goes on in these institutions.
Nurse Mildred Ratched was skillfully played by Louise Fletcher, who won the best actress Oscar. Needless to say that an argument could be made that Nurse Ratched was a supporting performance. Fletcher also benefited from the fact that Elizabeth Taylor and Anne Bancroft turned the part down. Could one imagine Geraldine Page doing this role? She would have had a field day with it.
Anyway, Ratched is an instigator. She riles the inmates up and then steps away after calling for emergency assistance. She is sicker than anyone confined there. This nurse actually believed that she was helping the patients by her strong beliefs in instilling scheduling and no change in the routine for the inmates. Obviously, she turns on McMurphy because he is a threat to her very existence.
Nicholson, ideal for the role, made the most of it. His refusal to conform shall lead to his ultimate downfall. Note a strong performance by Brad Dourif as one of the inmates, who Ratched destroys in one of her blistering fits.
Remember our short friend Mr. Cheswick? Vulnerable, his nervousness was memorable in a well designed film.