Fantastic film - heavy but moments of great humour

Rating: 10/10 (13 April 2014)

I watched this movie last night for the first time. Today I just can't get this movie out of my head! It was completely brilliant - superbly acted, fantastic script, and priceless humor mixed with some real hard and tormenting messages about the treatment inside the mental health institute.
Jack Nicholson was riveting to watch. He played the pragmatist, Mr McMurphy. Ultimately he was incredibly genuine, broke all the boundaries, and brought out his comical humour to slice through the most troubling and tense of moments.
Mrs Ratched - I didn't know what to think of her at first... it took me a while to work out what her intentions were. I thought it was brilliant how the director, Milos Forman, gradually revealed this antagonist's true colours, because on first impressions you believe she is just doing a difficult job. Well at least I didn't realise what a sour sweet she was!
But the one word I came away feeling to describe her - suffocating. Watching this movie you feel trapped, dominated and oppressed by her unreadable expression, her persistent interrogating techniques used in "therapy", and her need for total control. You get a very uncomfortable feeling of powerlessness to her robotic, squashing and crushing demeanor. Very hard to watch in some places. Her group "therapy" with the stuttering Billy being one which sticks out in my mind. Enough to make you need therapy! Was she pure evil, incredibly ill-informed, or a dictator on a power trip?
Must say my favorite scene was the basketball match with the "deaf and dumb" Indian giant, Chief, running up and down the court, completely annihilating the opponents as he put into practice the 'arms up' movement that Jack Nicholson had taught him early. A great cinematic moment!
10 out of 10.