Powerful, poetic and plausible! "Wow" at the performances and "Whoah" at the message

Rating: 9/10 (2 February 2011)

Finally watched this movie 36 years after its theatrical release. Definitely a special combo of brilliant acting, anti-establishment vigor and messages of living life and standing up to oppression.
I don't see this as a movie about mental health so much as the human spirit. Nurse Ratched is the epitome of freakish control, obeying rules no matter how inappropriate and showing an inability to see things from other people's perspectives. She truly is a scary villain... which makes McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) such a great hero.
Yes, McMurphy has problems and a criminal past, but we cheer for his spirit to break free from the frightening halls of Nurse Ratched's mental ward. That's why we forgive his breaking rules, and boisterous persona... because it's hard to sit back and watch the human spirit trampled so thoroughly as it is inside that mental hospital.
I really liked the movie, but it seems ranked a little too highly overall. Ranked #9 of all times at IMDb at the time of this writing... it just seems a tad over promoted. Perhaps nostalgia helps, of which I have none built up yet. It may also be that repeat viewings improve upon the feelings explored. But no doubt it's place on the MUST WATCH list is well warranted.