Deservedly So

Rating: 10/10 (21 January 2006)

Simplicity can tell a great story. You don't need complex sets, visual effects, or unneeded overly violent scenes. You need drab white sets, no visual effects, and only vital violent scenes in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." The simplicity this film exhibits is amazing for such a complex plot.
Randall Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is a troubled criminal sent from a work farm with a history of assault and statutory rape. Half the time he is there, McMurphy is out making friends with the other patients. The other half, he bides his time plotting against the oppressive Miss Ratched.
Miss Mildred Ratched (Louise Fletcher) shows no sign of villainy on the surface, but in her eyes, you see the fire which makes her tick. Running a strict routine, she exhibits many of the same characteristics as Angela Lansbury's performance as Eleanor Iselin in "The Manchurian Candidate"- kind on the surface, evil in the mind-and makes you unsure whether or not to sympathize with her when McMurphy attempts to strangle her, or to watch her with disgust as she leads Billy Bibbet to his suicide.
Mental patients in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" are people too; their minds still work, they can participate in group therapy without looking like an idiot; they have the same cognitive abilities as anyone else. These are accurate depictions of people in a metal hospital through the performances of Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, and Vincent Schiavelli.
This film is a masterpiece mainly because of the performance of Louise Fletcher as Miss Ratched. If you are astounded by this performance, then please check out Angela Lansbury's in "The Manchurian Candidate."