“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975) – A Magnificent Masterpiece About Mental Illness

Director: Milos Forman

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Danny DeVito

‘Outstanding Masterpiece’

Not many films have stunned me over the years. There’s been some great ones and then some brilliant ones, but no film really ‘did’ it for me. I have my favourites like “Forrest Gump” and “The Shawshank Redemption”, but again, that’s not a lot. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” just blew me away.

It’s been about 50 years (if not exact) to when this masterpiece came out. As a mainstream success, it won many awards, including 5 Oscars. One of those 5, was for Best Picture. A masterpiece, it fully deserved all the awards that it received.

“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is an unforgettable classic that impacted me in a major way. It contains fascinating performances, an excellent screenplay, and great direction, not to mention a joyous soundtrack.

The performances in this film are so worth the watch. Jack Nicholson gives his career-best performance as ‘McMurphy’. He delivers his soul towards his masterful performance and demonstrates an advanced understanding towards this film. His other films don’t reach the heights of this one. Louise Fletcher, on the other hand, gives a brilliant performance as the ‘nurse’. She lawfully is completely different, self-disciplined and serious. Both these performances cause a dramatic on- screen battle. For me, its Jack Nicholson who wins.

An excellent screenplay is orchestrated throughout this film. Michael Douglas hasn’t ever done such a wonderful job. This film, however, is disheartening at times, but also heartwarming, forming a nice combination. When a film deals with a serious subject matter, but has a hilarious tone to it, not to make it depressing.

Lastly, the soundtrack of this film is highly praiseworthy. The joyous moments of this film flow very well this soundtrack.

Overall, this film is certainly worth the watch. If you haven’t seen it, you’ve missed out on a film that changed my life. The ending of this film may seem abrupt, but I got over it, so no worries.

Nearly 50 years following its release, it has stood the test of time as one of the best movies ever made about mental illness capturing hardships of individuals to escape a cuckoo’s nest.

5/5 stars