| When we first meet
the men of this psychiatric center, they're all much
too meek to speak out against anyone, and Ratched
sits back and watches them turn on one another until
she's decided that she's had her fill of their
lunacy watching them break each other in to pieces,
and then retreats back to her nurses station taking
delight at looking out on to them and controlling
them as legally as possible. She's the villain who
works within the parameters of her profession
garnering a remarkable sense of achievement and
power from the impotence and insecurities of these
men, repeatedly forcing them to confront issues they
haven't toppled and bringing them back to square one
day after day. Jack Nicholson's portrayal of R.P.
McMurphy is quite stellar and the man grabs this
film from its roots and runs away from it as this
unbridled and unabashed example of manhood. He is
wild, erratic, masculine, demands his sports and
makes no apologies for sleeping with a fifteen year
old girl merely shrugging it off and explaining that
a man will be a man at the end of the day, and no
one can resist the sexuality of a woman. Not to
mention, he expresses some hint that she was a young
girl fairly aware of his urges and doesn't really
give an exception toward that bit of manipulation.
The dichotomy there is that Ratched quietly feels
threatened by McMurphy, this example of confidence
and charisma, while McMurphy struggles to keep his
individuality in tact first taking amusement at
these shells of men, and then deciding that he has
to help them reclaim their sense of empowerment from
the clutches of Ratched. The minute McMurphy begins
to challenge the monotony and norms of this
institute, Ratched watches on with quiet resolve,
and behind the scenes devises new ways to break his
spirit and turn him in to one of the drones in her
order.
The film then becomes
a war of the sexes and of wills as Ratched and
McMurphy battle for the minds of these patients, and
soon Forman dissolves slowly in to a psychological
war where McMurphy bonds with these men, and
anxiously strives to help them garner some sense of
possession in their lives as Ratched looks to keep
them in their places and contently watch them look
from the inside out where she can grab on to some
personal vendetta. While Ratched is someone clearly
with her own issues that remain ambiguous, make no
mistake, she is a villain. She is a stone faced,
cold hearted, vile woman with some lunacy of her own
who gains some sadistic pleasure in tearing down
these men of old and young, and she sees fit to
accomplish her agenda until the very end. Forman
dabbles with the psychosis of these men exploring
their own quirks and issues and sits in McMurphy's
chair often, asking why they simply can not step
outside and try harder. But as we slowly learn, it's
much easier said than done, and Ratched has
seemingly won even when McMurphy manages to inspire
some confidence and security among these patients
who will either try to venture outside the walls of
the hospital, or remain in their shells at the mercy
of this despicable woman who takes great pleasure in
keeping them subservient and quiet. "One Flew Over
the Cuckoo's Nest" is a marvel of contemporary
filmmaking with intelligence, entertainment value,
and ponderings on life, manhood, and how society can
be much scarier than nurses in white coats, and the
lesser of two evils, when all is said and done. It's
a wonderful bit of dramatic filmmaking and one I
highly insist you watch if you haven't yet.
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DVD
features for the set include
filmographies for the entire cast,
there's a full commentary with Michael
Douglas, Milos Forman and Jack
Nicholson, and a rundown of the awards
garnered for Forman's drama. The
supplemental disc has a library of
special features that film buffs will
adore. There's the ninety minute
"Completely Cuckoo," the documentary
discovering the origins of the original
novel, the source of the title, and the
development of the film as well as
explorations in to the author's life,
and his themes of his mental illness
within the book. There's the thirty
minute featurette entitled "Asylum" an
excellent look at the psychological
industry and the dilemma of patients,
many of whom choose their life behind
the walls among other mentally
distressed individuals. There are also
eight deleted scenes, one of which
includes the meeting of McMurphy and
Ratched, and McMurphy's issue with
clothes that is quite funny. We also get
the original trailer for the theatrical
release, and a rather
self-congratulatory promotional trailer
for the American Film Institute.
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Among the
many bells and whistles
of the set, collector's will be
given a small folder filled with full colored
stills of the main characters including Martini,
Bibbit, and McMurphy as well as Ratched, there
is a hard cover small book about the production
of the film and the thoughts of the cast and
film preservationists, consumers are given three
small reproductions of the film's posters, a
small press book for the film including news
clippings and pictures, and there's even a
wonderful deck of cards with McMurphy's picture
on the box that I suggest you keep in mint
condition. It's a wonderful little treasure
trove for fans of the film to re-discover every
time.
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