One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

What is it that made this movie a hit? Why is it in the top 10 existentialist movie count down on Sentient Developments? It could be the book, which inspired the movie in the beginning or it could be the overwhelming issue of choice. This issue of choice is so overwhelming in the movie that it essentially defines the lives of those in the film. But aside from choice, the character’s development as people creates an atmosphere for the film as well.
I will start by delving into the character’s personalities and their development as people in the movie. First, we have Billy Bibbit, a shy stuttering young man, who remains there by choice. At the end of the movie, Nurse Ratched catches him in a small room alone and naked with a woman, Candy, after seeing the entire hospital destroyed by ruthless partying. Nurse Ratched, fully aware of Billy’s unconfident nature, ridicules and embarrasses him in front of all of the other patients. After discussing how his mom will feel when she finds out about what has occurred and convincing him that it was his decision to go into that room with her, Billy Bibbit makes a decision; he commits suicide. By letting the Nurse’s remarks get to him, Billy allows Nurse Ratched to shape who he is as a person. Unlike all of the other patients, who by this point have gained some confidence, Billy falls into Nurse Ratched’s trap and allows her to manipulate him into thinking he has done something wrong. This scene not only shows the character of Billy but also of Nurse Ratched. She speaks to Billy in a demeaning manner, knowing that he will not take it well at all. Nurse Ratched continuously manipulates the patients throughout the film. Making it seem as though they have no choice at all, when in reality she doesn’t really control them. Also, R.P. McMurphy’s presence in the hospital helps to develop many of the character’s personalities. After he tries to lift the sink and fails, he says, “But I tried, didn’t I? God dam nit, at least I did that”. By showing the men that the least the can do is try, he changes the atmosphere in the hospital. That line allows the men to think about what they have done in the hospital compared to what McMurphy has done. They decide to become more confident and try, just as he asked them to do. As they being to do this, they realize that they can accomplish so much more with a little bit of effort. This is where the real change begins in the hospital.
The second and probably most prominent issue in this film is choice. We see the characters make choices over and over again throughout the movie. The simplest choice made is to remain in the hospital. We learn during a therapy session that almost all of the patients are voluntary. Despite the way for which they are cared, they decide to remain in the hospital, allowing themselves to be pushed around and mistreated daily. Chief Bromden is faced with many choices during the film. First, he makes the conscious decision not to speak in the hospital. This is a choice that defines who he is as a character. Later on, Chief decides to kill McMurphy. He realizes that McMurphy will now live a miserable life in a vegetative state and feels as though he is doing McMurphy a favor by ending his life. This choice definitely shows a side of Chief that we do not often see. He appears confident in his decision, believing that he has done the right thing for McMurphy. Lastly, his decision to escape the hospital demonstrates how his character has developed as well as a logical choice he has made. This action once again shows how he has become confident and not allowed Nurse Ratched or any of the supervisors to scare him into being one type of person. He can act as an individual and make his own choices. He shows that he is able to do this a lot at the end of the book. Next, R.P. McMurphy is forced to make many choices throughout the film. He seems to be faced with more choice than any other character, although he probably brings it upon himself. The choices he makes may seem simple at first, such as his choice to not take the medicine, or his choice to be there in the first place. But, if we consider all of his choices a little more, how could they be easy choices? Since he is there at all, he can and should clearly go along with the rest of the patients and obey the order by taking his medicine and not causing any ruckus. But, instead he rebels from the nurse’s orders and acts however he wants to act. He then decides to take all of the men fishing for the day, and invite Candy and Sandy to the hospital for the night. These decisions clearly go against hospital rules, but McMurphy follows through with his plan anyway. He makes a clear and conscious choice to create these events, understand the positives but also knowing the consequences should he be caught. These actions shape not only who he is as a person but also how the rest of the patients behave under his lead. At the end of the film, McMurphy is presented with the perfect opportunity to escape the hospital, but after realizing that somebody is hurt, he forgoes the chance to escape and hang out with the two prostitutes in order to make sure everything is all right. This moment really shows his true character. While he loves the party life and women, he truly is a good, kind-hearted person and has grown to really love these men in the hospital. Therefore, he wants to stay and make sure that everything is okay there. Unfortunately, they find Billy Bibbit dead after having committed suicide, an extremely hapless choice of his.
The myriad of choices with which the characters were faced, brought flavor to the film and kept the audience interested throughout. Also, following the characters through their development allowed us to better understand some of the choices of the characters and see how they changed throughout the film.