One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) - 81%
Up until now this blog has largely been aimed at reasonably obscure films, but I would like to recommend to those unfamiliar a work of pathos and comedy in (almost) equal measure, and one rarely surpassed since. Joining Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is an outstanding supporting cast, many of whom were similarly on the verge of being propelled into much greater heights, from Danny DeVito to Christopher Lloyd to that guy who plays the unhinged ghost in the movie, er, Ghost. The premise is that R.P. McMurphy (Nicholson) has essentially conned his way into a mental institution to avoid prison, and so must convince the staff that he is indeed fit for committal - at least until the end of his sentence. Throughout this process ’Mac’ learns a great deal about the way in which society treats its quirky outsiders, and the tenuousness of the grasp we have on the delineation between sane and insane.
In 1973, Dr Rosenhan and several of his associates feigned mental illness through alleged auditory hallucination to get themselves committed to psychiatric institutions. Their task was then to act as normally as they would have done prior to the experiment, and observe how long it took the officials to deem them safe for the outside world. Some were kept for months on end, and were only let out on the condition that they would take antipsychotic medicine, prompting Rosenhan to conclude that “it is clear that we cannot distinguish the sane from the insane in psychiatric hospitals”. It was perhaps the findings of this experiment which prompted Milos Forman to adapt Ken Kasey’s 1962 novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, into an enduring exploration of being sane in insane places. What follows is both an examination of our mental health practices in the Western World, and also a fantastically comic and career-defining performance from Jack Nicholson.
Glimpsing elements of the archetypal character that Nicholson would go on to play for decades after, Mac has all the maniacal facial expressions combined with fiery Bolshevism and a sharp wit. Unlike his meekly compliant counterparts, Mac instead prefers to enliven his fellow inmates’ lives with games, fieldtrips and girls. His insubordination cannot go on indefinitely however, and herein lies the film’s tragedy.
Expect a sympathetic view on the plight of the psychotic and the mentally disturbed, all the while undermining the bureaucracy of the mental health profession. For those interested in psychology, there are numerous avenues ripe for examination. For those less interested in such matters, there are intricate nuances of interpersonal interaction and at one point Jack Nicholson mimes having a wank in an office. Fun for all the family. If nothing else it’s a firmly established classic.
85%
