Deserving of all the praise.

Rating: 10/10 (21 May 2012)

Why is it so hard for Hollywood to make truly great, compelling cinema anymore? Watching a film like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a reminder of how truly outstanding a motion picture can be. This was a difficult picture to bring to fruition, but eventually the right mixture of writing, acting, and direction paid off. Jack Nicholson was already a star, but this film made him an untouchable. The nurse Ratched character is still the quintessential metaphor for any unlikeable woman. The film swept all the major Oscars. It isn't hard to see why. It is funny, touching, insightful, and wonderfully acted. The truly great ones are all these things.
Jack Nicholson plays a thirty-eight year old habitual criminal who has faked his way from a prison work detail into an insane asylum in 1963. For no other reason than his presumed laziness, he now find himself surrounded by extremely neurotic or downright crazy people. And the staff, led by the heartless Nurse Ratched, only add to the misery. What a drab, and hopeless place this hospital is. Even though everything inside is white, the drab Oregonian sky from outside seems to seep in and add to the misery. The sad thing is, most of these patients are voluntary! They'd rather exist in this terrible place than face the realities of the outside world. Nicholson doesn't realize until its too late that by causing himself to be committed, he will not be able to simply leave when his jail time is up. These monstrous creatures that run the place can keep him inside as long as they choose. This leaves him no other choice but to plan an escape. He even ends up throwing himself a kind of going away party at night when most of the staff has gone home! But his underestimating just how crazy some of his fellow inmates are leads to some tragic consequences. The film has a logical, yet somber conclusion.
Nicholson is in top form. He's just wild enough to fool some of the staff into thinking he might be actually crazy. But by time they all agree he's faking, its too late for him. They've got him trapped. Louise Fletcher, as Nurse Ratched, looks like kind of a grownup Mary Ingalls from Little House. Icy stares, and occasional phony politeness radiate from her scrubbed and polished face. She alone is responsible for most of the pain (physical and mental) that these patients face. The cast is uniformly excellent. Some of the actors were making their debuts in successful careers. Brad Dourif is especially eye-opening in his portrayal of stuttering mama's boy Billy. I'd give the film at least nine stars. And of course make it ten since Scatman Cruthers is on hand for a hilarious turn as the lone member of the night shift. Don't miss this film! The Hound.