One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a CLASSIC. It has an exceptional storyline, top notch actors, masterful visuals, and has the ability to take you on a journey that is truly uplifting to devastatingly distressing. It is just truly a masterpiece.
There is SO much to be said about this movie but today I will just say a few words on the the dynamic between R.P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) and Louise Fletcher (Nurse Ratched). I will do a full movie/book review another time.
Nurse Ratched is a former military nurse and the central authoritarian figure in the story… and in my opinion, one of the greatest movie villains ever. The movie displays corruption and poorly-constructed society’s approach to the “mentally unstable”.
From the moment R.P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) enters the psychiatric hospital it is apparent that there will be tension as he is rebellious and a defiant character who tries to challenge authority. The power struggle involves their roles inside the ward and their distinct personalities. Nurse Ratched is also responsible for the patients‘ access to medication, and it is evident that she uses the administration of meds as a means of controlling their lives.
McMurphy sees that Nurse Ratched’s control over the patients is not helping them get better but keeping them in a low emotional state. After his first group meeting, in which McMurphy witnesses Nurse Ratched’s malicious and calculated control over the patients, he decides that something needs to be done. The power struggle continues throughout the movie but in the end Nurse Ratched is proven to be superior by sending McMurphy to get lobotomized.
Did you see this movie? What did you think about the ending?
