You'd be mad not to see it...

Rating: 10/10 (21 October 2005)

Fantastic. Phenomenal. Cool. Stunning... Just a few of many positive words to describe the amazing 1975 Milos Forman classic, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. a moving and sometimes comic portrayal about the goings on inside an Oregon Mental Institute, with Jack Nicholson leading the star-studded cast to greatness as Randall P McMurphy, the one who flew over the cuckoo nest, and set the whole strict system on fire. Louise Fletcher plays Nurse Ratched. A cold, stark authoritarian keen to preserve the routines and discipline amongst the patients. But... Then Randall turns up, in his rambunctious but apparently sane manner, and the sparks fly. Nurse Ratched tries her best to subdue him into the peaceful, sedated and rather boring existence of the institute, but evidently appears to fail as Randall has plans of his own. Randall is not going to be pushed around by this woman. And he makes a stand, urging the others to take the stand as well, and break the routine, that probably sent them mad in the first place. Nicholson is fantastic and he thoroughly deserved his Best Actor Oscar, and Fletcher deserved her actress' equivalent Oscar too. They react and ignite each others actions so well that they couldn't claim anything less for their very realistic acting talents. Young Danny DeVito, Brad Dourif, Christopher Lloyd and even Scatman Crothers turn in good performance that are perceived as quite comical, but I'm not sure if they are meant to be really (I guess it is easy to laugh at the insane because of the general odd things they do, such as when DeVito eats the dice out of the Monopoly game.) Forman directs well, and the mood is exceptional. An aura of enigma surrounds the whole film, because watching it, no matter how many times often proves to be a quite joyful, yet confusing affair. I swear I cannot figure out these characters, they are too profoundly presented. The overall recommendation is high, the film is one of my all time favourites, adapted from the classic Ken Kesey novel, and it is without a doubt a complete and utter joy to see.