One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

This month I would like to review movies that star one of the greatest actors of all time that is known to play crazy, demented roles, Jack Nicholson. Today I will start off with one of the greatest cinematic achievements of all time, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat started off their review by saying, “Ken Kesey's 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has achieved cult status among high school and college youth. In a parabolic way, the book catches two very persistent and basic American fantasies: (1) the individual with personal freedom and complete independence, and (2) the rebel standing up to and subverting structures of oppression. Dale Wasserman adapted the novel for the stage, and Kirk Douglas starred in a successful Broadway version of the story in 1963. The drama subsequently played across the country in large and small cities.”

This novel adaptation on a book that I never read should be able to please fans of the book and convert new fans to this modern American classic. Released in 1975, it won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director Milos Forman, Best Actor Jack Nicholson, Best Actress Louise Fletcher and Best Adapted Screenplay Bo Boldman and Lawrence Hauben.

Randle Patrick McMurphy, played by Jack Nicholson, is transferred from a prison work farm to an Oregon state mental hospital for 90 days of psychiatric observation. Dr. Spivey, played by Dean Brooks, the mild-mannered hospital administrator, does not quite know what to make of this man whose papers describe him as aggressive, lazy, resentful and violent. It turns out that he is tough primitive who enjoys people and hates bureaucratic structures.

McMurphy slowly freaks out his fellow patients: Cheswick (Sidney Lassick), a fidgety and disturbed man; Harding (William Redfield), who thinks of himself as an intellectual; Billy Bibbit (Brad Dourif), a stuttering, hesitant kid; Martini (Louie De Palma on the hit sitcom “Taxi” and Frank Reynolds on the recent sitcom “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” Danny DeVito), a juvenile good-natured simpleton; Taber (making his film debut who also starred in “Taxi” as Reverend Jim 'Iggy' Ignatowski, the great Christopher Lloyd), a fearsome looking patient; Chief Bromden (Will Sampson), a giant deaf-mute Native American; and an eccentric assortment of other characters. The ward is ruled by the condescending, controlling and strict Nurse Ratched, played by Louise Fletcher, and her strong-armed orderlies. It doesn’t take long for McMurphy to see that she has made weak wonders out of all the patients. Anesthetized by drugs and afraid of the electro-shock therapy used to punish outlaws, the inmates cringe before her during therapy sessions and free time.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat mentioned, “McMurphy sets up his own version of Monte Carlo in the ward and bets the men that he can get Nurse Ratched's goat.” His first attack on the synchronized life of the mental institution is an attempt to change the daily schedule so that they can watch the World Series on television. When he doesn’t get what he wants, McMurphy and the men watched the turn-off TV set and pretend they’re watching the game. In another very funny moment, he uses the 6’4” Chief as the center on the awkward inmate basketball team. They beat the orderlies. Then for a real change of pace, he seizes the institution’s bus and takes his inmate friends down to the ocean for a boat ride. The men – most of them self-committed to the institution – experience a combination of joy and dread on the open sea. McMurphy has broken the rules and given them a sense of life on the outside. The capstone of his freedom mission is an all-night party with alcohol and girls.

Jack Nicholson is McMurphy in all his mischievous and rebellious fullness. He shows energy, quick wit, and a flashy smile that signals a rebel’s will not to be broken by the system. Fredericand Mary Ann Brussat said, “It is a role quite in line with Nicholson's depiction of other outsiders in Easy Rider, The Last Detail, and Five Easy Pieces.” In one of the movie’s most alive scenes, McMurphy sits in front of the open window after the all-night party and stares into the camera. Frederic andMary Ann Brussat also said, “But McMurphy realizes in one epiphanous moment that the other inmates have projected their hopes for independence onto him.” Instead of leaving them, he stays to be a man with his punishment for breaking the rules.

Czech director Milos Forman has refused to make McMurphy and Nurse Ratched into cartoon-strip characters. Louise Fletcher underplays the nurse so that her villainy comes across as it should – not crude, but subtle. Nurse Ratched’s humorlessness and obsession for control are convincingly expressed. By toning down the “Them” against “Us” tension of the novel, Forman gives the story more humanity than the stage versions of the work. The director’s great way with the actors shines through in their excellent performances.

Will Sampson’s depiction of Chief Bromden is especially moving. In the last analysis, it is this character who truly understands the meaning and value of McMurphy’s freedom crusade. The Native American is given back to himself. His escape from the hospital in the movie’s emotionally high-pitched finale strikes a note for freedom that is especially rich in its imagery and impact.

After seeing this movie, I don’t think anyone would want to go anywhere near a mental institution. I know I don’t after I saw this, but that’s the power that this amazing movie has. When I was in High School, my cousin invited us over to his school one night since his school was doing a production of the book. I enjoyed myself completely, especially the boy who was playing McMurphy. After seeing that play, I ended up seeing the movie. If you haven’t seen this movie, go out and see it because you will love it.

Stay tuned for next week to see the next review on “Jack Nicholson’s Month.”