My review of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Rating: Null/10 (7 February 2010)

One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 American drama film directed by Milos Forman.
Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is a criminal serving a short jail sentence on a prison farm. To avoid hard unpleasant labor throughout the remaining of his sentence comes up with a scheme to serve the rest of his prison sentence in a more relaxed setting, by being transferred to an institute for the mentally challenged. When he is analyzed by the doctors at the mental institute, the results of the review shows that he has a history of physical violence, however, shows no signs of mental illness.
Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) who oversees the division of the mental institute where McMurphy is transferred to is a serene but persistent, cruel and oppressive dictator who utilizes a series of obvious, abasement tactics during group therapy. Nurse Ratched's group therapy sessions are viewed by McMurphy as horrible, meaningless wasted medical treatments that take place daily. McMurphy asked Nurse Ratched if the group therapy sessions could be more functional, but Nurse Ratched didn't approve.
Billy Bibbit (Brad Dourif) is a young man that has a speech impediment problem who McMurphy befriends. Chief Bromden (Will Sampson) is a gigantic life-size Native American that is, because of his large immense body, ignored by the other patients. They all believe that he is deaf or mute. McMurphy, who finds "Chief" amusing, makes fun of him by taunting him because of his size. Later, McMurphy finds that "Chief" is not deaf at all, but has been playing Nurse Ratched and the other patients. Charles Cheswick (Sydney Lassick) is a man inclined to electric shock treatments because of his foolish, childlike temper tantrums, Martini (Danny DeVito), who is neurotic, and Dale Harding (William Redfield), well-educated, middle-aged man. McMurphy learned that all of the patients in his division were there voluntary, except for him.
This theme reminds me of the classic 1980 comedy film "Stir Crazy". Stir Crazy was about two criminals that went to prison and ended up in the ward of the hospital.
The main theme of "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" consists of McMurphy's struggles against the strict rules of Nurse Ratched. Her division at the hospital is a culture in itself, for it has its own regulation and retributions, both for the inmates and for the orderlies if any of them challenge Nurse Ratched.
Some of the techniques that were used to help create this film were the real use of dramatic locations. This was filmed at Oregon State Mental Hospital. The director used natural lighting throughout the mental ward as a way to show how plain and dull mental hospitals are viewed to be.