Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Rating: Null/10 (13 January 2002)

Whether you liked or disliked this film is down to personal preference. However In watching the film I found it to be intriguing in the fact that it bridges the gap between the Western narrative and the classic Gangster narrative. The opening and ending shots of the film are reminiscent of Shane, a film where the Westerner is a mediator between two forces, the Homesteaders and the cattle ranchers. The character Mac does the same thing, he is 'sane' yet mediates between the 'insane' and the 'sane'. Another interesting point in connection with Shane is that Billy, takes the role of initiate-hero. Following Mac around and near the ending asserting his independence. However, once set inside the mental hospital the narrative structure changes. It becomes the classic Gangster film structure, the rise and fall motif, where in the individual through trying to assert his individuality rises to the top of the pile, Mac as the leader of inmates, yet through some flaw in his character architects his own fall - his unwillingness to leave Billy and his resulting lobotomy. In this it follows The Public Enemy. Through this bridging of troubled waters the film addresses the questions of individuality, the confines of society and the bureaucratic superiority of authority. It puts the question of sanity very clearly. No-one is 'sane' or 'insane', its defined on which side of the wall you are on. Nurse Ratchett is as insane as her inmates, Mac is as sane as the patronising Doctor.
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest is a disturbing film, it is NOT funny, although you will smile, it is NOT sad, although you will cry. It is life, distilled through a lunatic asylum throwing our own hypocrisy back at us.