The man who...

Rating: Null/10 (2 February 2000)

When one of us interns at boarding school saw this when I was a kid and told us about it, he couldn't remember Nicholson's name in the film, so long-windedly described him as 'the man who wields all the powers' which is accurate but my god, it made an already protracted film seem endless. None of us did the obvious thing and say to him, "look, just call him NICHOLSON." That proves conclusively that Brad Doruff is no crazier than the average arsehole walking the streets.
Kirk Douglas wanted to make and star in this film originally because he saw 'the man who wields all the powers' as a Christ figure. This is a popular sentiment among many that is inexplicable and silly to me. Christ believed one should help others without thinking of a reward. 'The man who wields all the powers' thought only of himself and what he could con out of the system. He stimulated the people around him but that doesn't make him a saint as it was accidental, not by design. He didn't give a damn that when he stole the fishing boat, any one of the patients could have got seriously hurt or gone overboard and got lost at sea.
This film meanders on too long and the last quarter is nasty stuff. 'The man who wields all the powers' doesn't give a damn once again that mentally incapable people may drown on their own vomit after getting them plastered on booze. Are we meant to find it funny that drink was funneled down their throats? A Christ figure? People are so deluded.
The portrayal of psychiatric staff was also unfair, representing 'the state' and conformism over the susposedly admirable individuality and freedom (to exploit others) of 'the man who wields all the powers.' I think they did the best job they could with the perceived psychiatric wisdom of the day and is order so bad when you consider the reckless endangerment of others by the 'man who wields all the powers?' Nurse Ratched's tragic threat to Billy was ill considered, even reprensible but does that make her the monster she was portrayed? We are all human and anyone can lose their temper when confronted with the endangerment of patients and the destruction of property which she would be held accountable for and her staff would have to take long hours clearing up. Obviously, one has to accept the picture in the liberal, counter-culture context of the times but although it was well acted, it was neither a great or distinguished piece of film making.