“Tell me, doctor, do I look like a sane man?”
One of my favorite pastimes is reading a book or short story, then finding and watching all the adaptations of it. In some cases, like when we come to Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, there’s just the book and movie, but both are so good it’d be a travesty to ask for more!
BOOK (1962)
From the start, I was surprised to learn that the Jack Nicholson character I’d heard so much about wasn’t, in fact, the MC! Instead, we have Chief Bromden, a half Native American patient at the mental asylum who watches over everything while pretending to be mute. It’s through his eyes that we meet McMurphy, a new inmate who pretends at insanity to avoid a work farm, only to become the catalyst of change for his fellow patients against Nurse Ratched.
So many lines stood out to me while reading. “But they don’t exist, how can a man see them?” for one, and “‘But I tried though,’” he says. ‘Goddamn it, I sure as hell did that much now, didn’t I?’” for another.
And the reveal halfway through that most of the asylum’s patients were there voluntarily? Surprised me as much as McMurphy!
But I loved Chief as the main character in here, too. Slowly learning his backstory was great, as was McMurphy’s line to him here: “‘I didn’t say it didn’t make sense, Chief. I just said it was talkin’ crazy.’”
And then we have Chief’s “Since the government tried to buy their right to be Indians”, another gut punch, and that ending! “I’ve been away a long time.” Oh, it still gives me chills!
MOVIE (1975)
While many elements of the book are echoed in the Oscar-sweeping movie, there are a few changes made for the better. The timeline is much tighter and faster-paced, the boat trip is a complete jailbreak, and McMurphy’s effect on the whole asylum – Chief especially – is strongly felt!
But in the movie, Chief isn’t quite the main character anymore, certainly not the narrator. His selective muteness is more of a reveal this time around, catching both McMurphy and the audience off guard. But agh, his friendship with McMurphy is so effectively strong and painful!
Ugh, and Billy too! He’s one of the best characters, and his ending is just heartbreaking. McMurphy’s bond with him is another bright spot, especially as he chooses avenging Billy over freedom… to devastating consequences.
I really wasn’t ready for the way Chief hugged McMurphy’s in that tragic penultimate scene, or the necessity that came after… but oh man, that final shot! The expansive freedom of that ending, despite all that came before! It captures the book’s last line with impactful clarity, and that soundtrack… fine, I’ll agree that One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest deserved all five of its Oscars! Now I’m tempted to go back and watch it again.
