One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Written by Lawrence Hauben & Bo Goldman

Directed by Miloš Forman

It’s a little bit crazy to me, but as I go back through the list of Best Picture winners up to this point, we’re at number 48, but this is only the 7th that I had seen prior to starting this project. In fact, it’s going to be another 8 films until I reach another that I’ve seen. I bring this up merely as a matter of curiosity, not for any special significance.

I first saw this film about 10 years ago, when we watched it in my Physiological Psychology class in junior college. I remember feeling that, while it’s not a film I would actively watch of my own volition, that it was well made and entertaining. Watching it again, and already knowing the ending, I agree with that sentiment, but this time I was able to focus on the performances of the actors, not with following the plot (which, admittedly, is not all that complex).

An unrecognizable Brad Dourif (center) and Danny DeVito (right)

The performances are really what make this movie great. There are the obvious heavyweights of Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher, but the actors who make up the ensemble are fantastic, as well. Danny DeVito is almost unrecognizable, Brad Dourif (whom I only know from Lord of the Rings) looks so young, and Christopher Lloyd makes his feature film debut here. All three of them do outstanding work, but DeVito takes the cake with his performance, constantly reminding the audience that he has amazing range that I think is all too often forgotten. Will Sampson as Bromden steals the film in his role, and his role in the finale is perfectly poignant.

Jack Nicholson as McMurphy

But, of course, we have to discuss Nicholson and Fletcher. This is only the fifth role I’ve seen Nicholson in (and yes, I admit, The Shining is not one of them), and he continually surprises me with the depth of his performances. Here, Nicholson is instantly likable, despite the potential to come across as aggravating, which is exactly how Fletcher’s Nurse Ratched sees him. McMurphy, it is implied, doesn’t need to be in the facility, but his presence brings chaos to Ratched’s well-oiled, if not misguided, machine. There’s no doubt in my mind that Ratched absolutely meant well, at some point in her nursing career, and that, to me, makes her even more chilling, because like all good villains, she doesn’t know that she is one. Fletcher gives Ratched a cold, calculating quality, and it’s a great study of the corruption of power and what it does to someone.

Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched

Technically, the film is adequate. There’s no big advances here: the framing of shots is pretty standard, the narrative techniques aren’t groundbreaking. The subject matter, by today’s standards, isn’t exactly unique, but this is the first film on the Best Pictures list to really deal with mental health (one could argue that The Lost Weekend from 1945 is first, and I could accept that, too, except I tend to think of it as dealing primarily with addiction, specifically, not mental health in the broad terms it is here). The music is somewhat unique, continuing the trend of experimental musical scores that preceded the return of full symphonic scores, heralded by John Williams’ Star Wars score. It’s not particularly memorable, but it does its job well.

Ultimately, the film gets more right than it gets wrong, as evidenced by the fact that it is only the second film, out of three, to win the “Big Five” awards of the evening: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay (it’s preceded on the list by 1934’s It Happened One Night). It’s a great character study, and while it’s not as exciting or form-advancing as some of the other films on this list, it’s suspenseful and enjoyable, balancing comedy and tragedy seemingly effortlessly.

FINAL GRADE: B+