A not-so-great film.

Rating: 2/10 (6 September 2012)

The film itself is brilliant, with superb acting from Jack Nicholson as McMurphy and Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched. It does well in exploring the juxtaposition between man and machine, and the controlled institution that Kesey targeted in his novel.
However, having actually read the novel before watching the film, I can't say that I'm impressed. It's unbelievably inaccurate, and Fletcher is not cruel enough with the role of the Big Nurse; she doesn't convince me at all that she is supposed to be the matriarchal core of a large, dangerous machine that "kills" the personality.
The characters are mixed up and tossed about, for example Taber and McMurphy often swap lines and the sheer fact that Taber is in the institution when he's actually supposed to have been released back into society to "pass it on" to his family just ruined the point of his story. There is no sense of a loss of power with regards to Nurse Ratched's neck injury, also. It just appears as if everything goes on as it used to.
Overall, I'd say this is a good film to watch if you've not read the novel first. Otherwise, you'll be severely disappointed.