One of my favourite movie scenes of all time (One flew over the cuckoo's nest)

By Mackers · May 7, 2014 · ·


  1. There are so many things about this dynamic scene that makes it rank among my favourite in all the films I have ever viewed. Here the villain of the film Nurse Ratched begins a discussion that is of absolutely no value to any of the patients in the group whatsoever, and it concerns one of the patients, Mr Harding's estranged wife. She initiates a talk whose subject matter has been covered many times, as is clearly evident by the reactions of the other patients. Harding, who is clearly mentally ill, utters some rather vague and completely contradictory phrases which, in his mind, are an expression of his own intelligent and considered opinion when in fact he makes no sense at all. I love how the scene quickly escalates into an argument, with bully-boy tactics from the character Taber and others, the well-meaning but misguided and naive Cheswick who tries to stick up for Harding, the cold and distant gaze of Nurse Ratched (Who watches stony-faced and does nothing to control the patients.) Then, as a kind of vessel of sanity, you have Jack Nicholson who sits and watches curiously this whole scene, going from benign curiosity to being entertained by the drama, at one point making a hilarious mimicking gesture of Harding who is arguing with the rest of the group, particularly Taber. A great scene. A classic. They don't make films like this any more. And if they do, I have yet to see them...

    Here is what Harding says during the scene:

    Later:

    Harding's dialogue is fantastic, not because of what it axiomatically reveals in the words themselves, i.e. in the normal sense what it might offer the viewer, such as an interesting or impressive philosophical insight but rather in the subtext of how Harding views himself, and what this says implicitly about his mental illness. Like all good dialogue it is very revealing of Harding's characterisation. He is articulate in the way that he uses some words, even though the context of their usage is nonsense. (For example, what does he mean by 'form' and 'content' ...These words give the impression of being analytical) In my opinion it indicates a man who perhaps at one point was quite intelligent, perhaps even holding a decent job in a decent profession. Now his thinking is completely nonsensical and disorganized which we as viewers assume is brought on by his illness.

Comments

  1. jazzabel
    Excellent movie and a good analysis. It's when the brain refuses to make the same connections it used to, and the patient is trying to make sense of their thoughts. But on the other hand, rarely did I encounter such profoundness as I saw in words of some mentally ill people. Sometimes, amidst all that nonsense, a really meaningful perspective emerges, and to me 'form' and 'content' in this context make a lot of sense, if you consider he was referring to the abstract essence of everything. We see people dip into this universal consciousness under the influence of lsd, and you know what they say about opening the 'doors of perception'.
      jannert and Mackers like this.
  2. jannert
    Wow. I forgot how good that movie is. That smug look on Rached's face at the end says it all. As does the look on Nicholson's—you KNOW he's got her number. Chilling.
      Mackers likes this.
  3. aikoaiko
    They don't make films like this any more.

    Probably because they require quality actors.:rolleyes:
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