Classic movie

Rating: 10/10 (21 August 2013)

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, an exploration of life inside a mental institute in America in the 1970s, is THE definitive exploration of mental illness put on film. It's a classic for a good reason, a movie that has it all: laughs and heartache, drama and pathos, feel-good moments and scenes of pure tragedy. The film is an adaptation of a novel but it's the screenplay which proves so successful, making perfection out of the story elements.
Jack Nicholson is perfectly cast in the edgy lead role, playing the new guy who comes into the ward to shake things up a bit. Nicholson always has that wild side to him and he plays it perfectly here. As the antagonist, Louise Fletcher has a much more rounded character than you might expect; although she's cast as the villain, she's more complex than that, truly convicted that her ways are the best.
The film is also notable for the prevalence of familiar faces in the supporting cast, many of whom went on to better things. Christopher Lloyd, Danny DeVito, Brad Dourif and Will Sampson are the stand-out players, many of them so young as to be virtually unrecognisable, but all revealing the greatness to come.
The intensity of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST builds as the story progresses and the stakes are raised, with the narrative in the end proving to be a life and death battle between humanity and the establishment. It doesn't get much more powerful than that, huh? And the ending, although bittersweet, is sheer perfection realised on film. I can't wait to watch this one again.