For my fifth entry of influential films throughout the decades, I am going to be analyzing the cinematic phenomenon that was One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, released in 1975. While the 1970s was jam-packed with memorable films like Grease, Halloween, Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope, The Exorcist, Rocky, The Godfather, Jaws and more, I decided to talk about this film because of its profound influence on me when I watched it with my family for the first time a couple years ago. There are few films that I have only watched once and continue to think about for months, or years in this case, after viewing it. This movie is one of those films, and I was reduced to tears by the end of it. I will refrain from spoiling how the movie ends, for if you have not seen it, I highly suggest it if you enjoy thought provoking films regarding mental illness.

The film is based off of the novel by the same name by Ken Kesey that was published in 1962. The story examines the cruelty of authoritarian power as well as the dehumanizing effects of institutionalization for those struggling with mental illness and individuality.

In the movie, Jack Nicholson stars as Randle Patrick McMurphy, a convict who pleads insanity to avoid labor duties in prison. He is sent to a psychiatric ward in Oregon that is led by the steely Nurse Mildred Ratchet (played by Louise Fletcher). Nurse Ratchet employs manipulative tactics such as subtle humiliation, unpleasant medical treatments, and electroshock therapy to control the patients. McMurphy quickly learns that the patients have no desire to learn to become functional in the outside world because of their fear of Nurse Ratchet. McMurphy soon establishes himself as the leader of the ragtag group and absolves to bring joy into the patients’ lives. This leads to a battle of wills between McMurphy and Nurse Ratchet as he attempts to rebel from her control, symbolizing the greater theme of oppression and misunderstanding of mental illness.

Unfortunately I cannot explain the plot much more without spoiling the impactful ending, and I firmly believe in going into a movie with little to no background knowledge so as to experience the full effect of its message.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest won 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jack Nicholson), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Louise Fletcher), Best Director (Milos Forman), and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay). These awards were well-deserved, for Jack Nicholson’s passionate performance and Louise Fletcher’s stone cold stare were enough to give me goosebumps. Although the premise of the movie contains serious themes that criticized the function of mental institutions at the time, there is also a level of comedy that is to be expected from a Jack Nicholson film. You will laugh and cry while watching this movie, and each character’s unique characteristics add a deeply human element that, in my humble opinion, has yet to be matched in films today.