I knew you wouldn't leave without me

Rating: 9/10 (16 May 2020)

A spirited film which is equally uplifting and depressing. I think it has aged well through the years as it still shows us the mistakes and flawed systems in our past.
Jack Nicholson in my opinion is one of the greatest actors of all time and shows us such raw emotion and phyiscal presence that you never know if he is playing a character on screen or just being himself. He shoulders the film (Like the Shining) but again not without the help of a superb support cast. Most of whom went on to become some of the best entertainers of the film industry in their own right such as Christopher Lloyd, Danny DeVito, Brad Dourif, Louise Fletcher, Scatman Crothers and Will Sampson.
There are moments that make you feel good while you see the inmates starting to stand up for each other and strengthen their friendships. The companionship between McMurphy and Bromden is a major driver in the film which starts with the Basketball scene which was an emotional piece of cinema. It had all the inmates and orderlies bonding together and just having a good time and you start to the see the inmates get a new lease on happiness in their lives. All lead by the spontaneous and charismatic Randle McMurphy.
While Randle has done some horrible things in the past to be admitted to the asylum including five assaults and the statutory rape on an underage girl. This film still makes his character fun and likeable and that is because he is a free spirit and not a person who is a danger to himself or others, but someone who just truly enjoys life's pleasures such as watching the world series, heavy drinking and sex.
Louise Fletcher as Nurse ratched is brutally cold, manipulative and intelligent. While she does stand up for herself she also bullies, intimidates and uses the patients past and fears against them.
The film is one that I highly recommend. It delves into the human mind and the will of freedom, the storytelling is just as good and is capped off in the ending with one of the most memorable scenes in movie history involving Will Sampson and Jack Nicholson.
9/10