Almost Perfect

Rating: 8/10 (31 May 2014)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is an absolutely fantastic film but I have one issue with it that is kind of hard to look past. I read the book before I watched the movie and when I do that I try really hard to keep my opinions on the two mediums separate. I understand that what works well in a book can't work for a film and vice versa. The movie is a really great adaptation. All the performances are fantastic (especially Jack Nicholson's) and it just looks really great. But, and here's my issue, the ending of the movie doesn't fit. And by ending I mean that literal last scene where Chief Bromden kills R.P. McMurphy and escapes. Now, the scene plays out exactly like it does in the book which was great to watch but it just doesn't fit with the movie. One thing they changed was the point of view. The book is told from Chief's point of view and is ultimately his story of how he grows through watching R.P. McMurphy. The movie, on the other hand, is changed to be R.P. McMurphy's story. But the ending is the same. The movie, which is about McMurphy, ends with Chief's redemption. If they just fixed the ending to fit better with McMurphy's story then the movie could be perfect.