The Cuckoo Which Broke Free (Movie Review)

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)

DIRECTOR: Milos Forman

CAST: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, William Sampson

GENRE: Drama/ Black comedy

RUN TIME: 2h 13mins


"Which one of you nuts has got any guts?", said McMurphy, the lead in one of the greatest films of all time, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, which is an American psychological drama film, directed by multiple award-winning director Milos Forman, based on the 1962 novel of the same name, written by Ken Kesey. The lead actor in the movie Jack Nicholson has done an extraordinary job playing his character, Randle McMurphy.

This movie revolves around the character, McMurphy, who with a criminal history pleads insanity in order to get transferred to a mental institution, to avoid hard labor and serving time in prison. This ward of mentally unstable men is presided over by the head nurse Mildred Ratched (played by Louise Fletcher), a cold, unsympathetic, arrogant, passive-aggressive tyrant. She becomes a metaphor for cruel authoritarianism. Ratched views McMurphy's loud, lively, confident, and rebellious character as a threat to her authority and responds using her powers over them in a seemingly cruel manner. McMurphy is also seen to have developed deep friendships with several of his ward mates, especially with "Cheif" Bromdem (played by Will Sampson), a deaf and mute Native American, whose character is later revealed to have a more symbolically important meaning in the story.

Coming to the quality of the acting, each character has been portrayed spectacularly by their respective actors. The entire movie is brought alive with Jack Nitzsche's wonderful music that suits the frames like a glove. The script is incredible, and unpredictable, and gets its message of institutionalism vs individuality through to the audience. The movie also serves as a political allegory, which portrays the consequences faced by ordinary people who try to voice their opinions against rich and powerful politicians. This movie is one of the most emotionally complex movies about basic human rights and oppression and it relates to not just the institutionalized but to the society as a whole. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, which has won numerous awards, is a humorous and compassionate, remarkable, and outstanding masterpiece that still holds relevance in today's society. 



 

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