An ultimately powerful, tragic, and terrific movie.

Rating: 10/10 (14 August 2007)

I will not hesitate in saying that "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is one of the most powerful and emotionally provoking movies in existence. It is something that truly cannot be ignored. While I will am sure that I have not even come close to seeing all of the great movies in existence, as of right now "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is indeed one of the most entertaining, moving, and brilliant movies that I have ever seen.
In the beginning of this movie we are given an outside view of the mental hospital that will serve as the main setting of the movie. After the introductory credits we are give a look inside the hospital, and we are then introduced to a whole new community, the patients in the ward. Soon after we are given an introduction to the character that will truly start off the entire movie, Randall Patrick McMurphy.
Jack Nicholsons performance as McMurphy is without a doubt not only one of Nicholsons greatest performances, but one of the greatest performances of all time. McMurphy is a fairly sane criminal in the movie who is jailed for charges of assault and statutory rape. Pleading insanity, McMurphy hopes to serve out his jail sentence with comfort inside of a mental ward. What Nicholson brings to McMurphy is the ultimate anti-authority character, with a sly pranksters sense and someone who will try to change the environment around him, probably by causing trouble. What is McMurphy trying to change and rebel against? It all lies within the mental hospital.
Inside the mental hospital resides a slew of mental patients, headed by the ever-controlling Nurse Ratched. Here lies even more great performances, particularly the one of Nurse Ratched, who is played by Louise Fletcher. She is a woman who enjoys being in control, mainly because she believes that what she does is what is best for her patients. Mentioning the patients, they are among the most memorable characters in cinema history. Whether it be the stuttering Billy Bibbit(portrayed by Brad Dourif) or the seemingly intelligent Harding (played by William Redfield), each of the patients that the movie focuses on are wonderfully crafted by the actors who portray them.
Among these patients McMurphy tries to stir a rebellion against the dominating Nurse Ratched, though that is where I will stop in my description of the movie. I will say, though, that this movie shows just how important acting is in the movie, and this movie features some of the best.
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is one of the most compelling, shocking, and perhaps tragic movies that I have ever seen, and, to top it off, one of the greatest.