One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Review

Rating: Null/10 (2 May 2010)

McMurphy as played by Jack Nicholson believes that by feigning mental illness, it will enable him to serve out his time in a mental institution rather than the hard time behind prison walls. McMurphy's view of freedom comes in the form of the perceived lazy days of a mental institution rather than back breaking work at the labor camp.
Upon his initial arrival, it is evident that he believes himself to be superior to the other patients at the hospital and of sound mind. This is noted by his harsh criticism of the patients as well as his desire to wear street clothes as opposed to the patient uniform worn by everyone else. As McMurphy later learns. most of the patients were there voluntarily: Martini (Danny Divito), Sefelt (William Duell) and Bancini (Josep Elic). McMurphy finds this notion incredulous and wondering why they would choose to stay rather than have their freedom.
Like the movie Girl, Interrupted; there seems to be a strong character that has a profound effect on those around them in the institution. At times this influence can be a good thing like when McMurphy befriends the Chief and teaches him to play basketball thus building his self esteem. There are times when this can be a bad thing, like when McMurphy lending Billy Bibbit his girlfriend to experience an evening woman thinking that it will help heal him. In the end it is this act that causes him great guilt and remorse as bestowed onto him by Nurse Ratched and he decides that taking his own life in the end would be less painful than having to confront his mother over his actions.
Nurse Ratched as portrayed by Louise Fletcher plays a straight laced nurse seemingly out for the best interest of all of her patients but in the end it is her desire for strict order and discipline that motivates her. While she is in a constant struggle for mind-share over the patients with McMurphy, she can't help but to get some amount of personal satisfaction when the treatment of McMurphy is escalated based on his outbursts.
In the end, McMurphy creates many chances to escape himself but like the others seems to find more comfort in the group than outside the walls. What he believed to be freedom and his eventual idea of escape was the very setting that killed him in the end gaining him the ultimate freedom.