I'm not stuck in here with you, you're stuck in here with me!

Rating: 9/10 (15 December 2012)

Have you ever found a piece of old schoolwork and realized how dumb you were? That now, with all of your more developed skills, you could've done that same assignment to a higher degree of quality or ease? That's how I felt watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for the second time. 2 years ago I enjoyed the plot, characters, and ending, but now, 2 years and over 150 films later, I can appreciate One Flew Over for what it is: a masterpiece of fiction, and a deceptively challenging piece of art.
I'll jump past the plot synopsis and get to the heart of the film: R.P. MacMurphy. The slacker, rebel, that kid in class who just wouldn't listen. How can you deal with a character like MacMurphy? Is something wrong with him? This is a major thematic point in Cuckoo's Nest, and the answers aren't simple. What gives someone the right to make choices for another? What is the point that someone can't think for themselves? Is there a point? Questions beget questions, especially around the idea of "authority".
That authority is personified by Nurse Ratched. She looks like an authority figure: icy glare, skull- like face. Instantly you dislike the nurse. You're pointed in that direction by the patients. But personally, when looking at her character objectively, I didn't find her bad for most of the film. Let me elaborate: a few weekends ago I met an children's organ transplant doctor. It is the most noble of work, but visually I could tell it took a toll on him. He wasn't rude, or volatile, or detached, but what he described himself as "serious". Working in healthcare, seeing things go wrong, that wears you down. I believe Ratched, working (for a long time), hearing mental patients yell about trivial things such as cigarettes, day after day, takes its toll. You wouldn't be a cheerful soul after years of that. Of course at the end she does flex her cruelty and we really grow to resent her, but for most of the film I thought she was just doing her job.
This is a great film to analyze because it's so opinionated. Two similar people can see it, and based off of their own experiences will draw very different conclusions about the message and characters. Many others hate Nurse Ratched. I'm sure there are those out there who don't like MacMurphy. Some will say control is necessary, others that freedom is the most important thing out there. Cuckoo doesn't really force you into believing one certain way.
The hospital itself if juxtaposing: the setting is a plain, boring hospital with drab white everything, but the characters are quirky and colourful. I loved them all, and didn't find anyone really annoying: Chezwick's extremity, Tobar's big reactions, the Chief, General, Billy, and a near- silent Stanley Kubrick-alike. This band of misfits are a joy to watch, and have some laugh-out-loud moments like Martini eating the dice and the basketball game.
Despite the hospital setting, Cuckoo is a generally smile-inducing film with a fantastic script that develops its characters well for the conclusion. And oh, the end. It is really a twist, but the second you realize what's happened, how the chips have fallen, you give an audible gasp. This is one of the great film endings, bitter and sweet, but very satisfying. It may even bring a tear to your eye. 9.4/10