Analyzing Evil: Nurse Ratched

welcome everyone to the third episode of analyzing evil the villain will be going over in this video isn't your traditional run-of-the-mill evildoer no this one doesn't kill torture or brutalize anybody at least not physically this villain is simply just doing her job or is she as you've already seen from the title card this video is going to be all about the psychological terror that is nurse Mildred ratchet One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is often ranked as one of the greatest films ever made and for good reason it's a brilliant look into the inner workings of mental institutions as they were in the mid 20th century and a great insight on the terrible effect that bureaucratic power has on those who wield it and those they wield it against with every great film comes great characters and within that roster of characters we can usually find for ourselves an equally great villain this is the case for Nurse Ratched who more often than not you can find listed near the top of any list of great villains there had never been a villain quite like her at the time and there hasn't really been one since this owes itself not only to the great writing for the character but the performance of Louise Fletcher who brings her to life better than anyone could have her facial expressions and mannerisms are a big part of what makes this character an amazing villain we'll be delving into the mind of Nurse Ratched and we'll also be paying close attention to how she acts and the way she speaks her dialogue itself is important but the personality that shone through her dialogue isn't so much built upon what she says but rather how she says it we're going to explore all of the things that make this lovely lady tick and decompress everything that's inside that cruel and vindictive mind of hers ladies and gentlemen without further ado I present to you the dreaded Nurse Ratched in our first encounter with Nurse Ratched it seems innocent enough at first she's leading a meeting where the group attempts to work out their individual problems by sharing them and gaining insight on them through the input of other members of the group in practice this is in fact an effective form of group therapy we see her open up by bringing forth the problem Harding has with his wife that he brought up in their last session and asking for the opinions of the other members on the matter now it's natural for people who are in these groups to feel a bit timid about sharing especially being the first to do so the way the other characters in the film react to having their names called by Nurse Ratched could be seen as simple shyness or a result of whatever mental afflictions they suffer from but in this case I feel it's a great way to establish something that is central to her character fear the way most of them recoil at the thought of being the first to share is as I said before something natural for most people but here this is our first exposure to how the characters feel about Nurse Ratched they fear her and perhaps I'm reaching here but I don't feel that any of them feel even remotely comfortable about burying themselves openly to Nurse Ratched safe for Harding at this point a cold glare is shared between Nurse Ratched and Mac's giving us another important feature of hers right off the bat her very distinctive and bone-chilling stare this stare is seen once again in the following scene when the boys are out playing basketball staring down from the window and disapproval emotionless as ever ratchet sees something in Mack that you can't stand chaos a wrench in the machine that'll throw her orderly world into disorder I can only speculate that this was what was on her mind when she was staring out that window and you can't blame her on that account as you'll see more and more of Mac's rebellious nature as the film goes on our next encounter with ratchet is during her exchange with Mack on the volume of the record player here we get to see for the first time another key to her personality and methods in this exchange we see a ratchet explained to Mack why he can't be in the nurse's station and why she can't turn down the music just as she would explain something to a child the method she uses to explain the volume of the record player to Mack he's used many times throughout the film she tells him that the rest of the patients wouldn't like it if she turned the music down makes sense right but the reality is she's using the patient's as a foil to keep things the way she likes them this is her main way of getting what she wants using the patient's as an excuse to keep things in order just as she likes them remember this because it comes into play many times in this film this coupled with her condescending tone is her way of demeaning and dehumanizing her patients to make them feel lower than her and of less intelligence causing them to be further intimidated by her as a result another key thing we see on display here is the way she smiles and when she does so there isn't so much as a crack in her features when she's explaining things to Mack the only time she can be seen showing any sort of pleasure is when she gets her way or when making a threat such as when Mac takes his medicine stating that if he doesn't want to take it orally he can take it another way suggesting of course that he do so rectally once again as if she were dealing with a child she tells him very good in a very patronizing tone sometime later on we find ourselves witnessing another of her meetings this above all else seems to be the way she keeps her tight grip on the patients and holds them exactly where she wants them to be in a constant state of fear and anxiety Mac goes on to suggest that they changed the schedule around so the boys will be able to watch the opening of the World Series how horrifying ratchet must have thought in this moment to change the schedule would be to change how things are ordered how she's ordered them and there's no way someone like her could ever have a change like that made unless it was her doing the changing of course once again she goes on to explain that the patients wouldn't like this because after all it takes them a long while to adjust to any type of schedule let alone a change to one that's already set the point here is to show even further that this is how she gets what she wants half of these patients aren't even lucid some of them wouldn't even flinch if he shaved off all the hair on their heads let alone flip over a little change to the schedule she puts a very nice touch on the decision-making here as well she allows Mack to put it to a vote which seems great right she's not so bad after all I mean she's just looking out for her patients and wants to decide things in a fair manner right no that couldn't be further from the truth ratchet here knows full well that few if any of the patients at this point at least are going to do anything that isn't according to her will they fear her so much and the potential repercussions that could follow that most of them look around sheepishly betraying their own desires at the behest of their preeminent master further playing the part she even apologizes to him once the vote doesn't come out to a majority once again shifting the blame from herself onto others the next day in another meeting we see her trying to force Billie into talking about some very sensitive and traumatic events in his life a girl who we loved and asked to marry him and then his subsequent attempt to commit suicide upon her rejection of his proposal Cheswick interrupts her and asks why she keeps pressing him if he doesn't want to talk and asks her what's the purpose of it she responds by telling him matter-of-factly that the purpose of the meeting is therapy while this might be true I believe she does so in order to torment young Billy there's therapy and forcing someone to confront the truth they're fearful of but in this case while not very apparent by her mood which is fairly ironclad throughout most of her exchanges upon taking a closer look at the way she presses him you can see that there's no therapy in this only a terrifying revisitation of painful memories here Cheswick also brings up the matter of the second game of the ongoing world series a game he'd like to watch thus once again giving Mack and in to request another vote on the matter here we get to see two things the first is Mack's erosion of the fear that hangs over the head of these men as now they all hold their hands up when asked the vote showing a bit of their braver side now that they have a charismatic source of inspiration and to that Nurse Ratched won't be outdone by anything especially defiance she uses a very powerful tool that she holds in her repertoire the use of semantics oh yes the members present in the meeting overwhelmingly voted for a change in the schedule to watch the World Series she states that technically there are 18 members on the ward and well it just wouldn't be fair if we didn't have a majority vote on the matter now would it there's always a way to get her way as far as she's concerned she provides Mac with another way to satisfy his desires after all he needs only one vote should be easy right well no the rest of the patients aren't in the meeting for a reason and ratchet knows this they're incapable of having the same kind of interactions with others due to their various delusions and illnesses knowing this ratchet adjourns the meeting and once again attempting to show herself as the fair and just nurse of the flock states that Matt can bring the matter up again in their meeting tomorrow the thing about ratchet that you have to keep in mind is something that the director writer and actor do very well with the character unless you're looking for it it's not very apparent that this character is evil at all I mean she's just doing her job right she's not being cool about it she's giving the man a chance after all but once you've taken to account her inherent need for control do you realize the satisfaction that is hidden behind her vacant visage her desire for control permeates her entire persona and becomes more and more evident as time goes on after trying with everyone Mac finally gets the vote that he needs the chief raises his hand he's one ratchet will surely honor her word right wrong once again she uses her bread-and-butter semantics the meetings been adjourned the vote was nine to nine at the close of the session and therefore the Chiefs vote is invalid not only does she get her way but she gains an even higher amount of satisfaction in the fact that she has caused anger and sadness to another person without so much as flinching she explains this to Mack causing him to lash out in anger as he turns around she closes the window to her station and you can just make out a smile forming at the corners of her mouth she then turns around puts on the record player and stands with her hand on her hip as she stares at Mack her body language is key in understanding her feelings in her here she looks over to him as if to say well what are you gonna do about it well Mac in fact does do something about it he narrates an imaginary game for the boys exciting them and making them laugh and holler and generally enjoy themselves but this is enjoy no to Nurse Ratched this is disorder chaos joy is what she believes joy is not you she gives the men a deadly stare before we get to hear her for the first time break her calm and cool demeanor by loudly shouting at them to stop immediately this is the first time we get to bear witness to ratchets last resort method for dealing with defiance when she doesn't get her way when someone isn't acting according to plan her calm cool collected demeanor and her roundabout way of controlling her patients through semantics and wordplay devolves into commands a raised voice and a menacing cold tone in the next scene when McMurphy has asked about whether he likes it at the asylum he complains about Nurse Ratched when the doctor hears this he says to him that she's one of the finest nurses in the institution this is further expanded on in the next scene that our lovely nurse appears in wearing she's included in a meeting of the various doctors of the asylum to give her opinion on whether or not they should release McMurphy or keep him on for further study the recognition she receives could explain a lot about her behavior if she's perceived as one of the finest nurses the institution has to offer that must validate to her that she is doing a good job if she's doing a good job her methods at least in her mind must be correct this scene however reveals something deeper about the mind of Nurse Ratched here we see without a doubt that she is an incredibly vindictive person here she has a chance to get rid of arguably her biggest problem the wrench in the machine that's been causing her trouble that's been disrupting the natural order can be carted off somewhere else where he has no effect on her she must know that he isn't mentally ill it's never mentioned by her but given the interactions and opinions of the other characters in the film regarding McMurphy sanity there's no way she believes he's insane so what's a reason for keeping him there then the only reason she needs revenge a person like Nurse Ratched isn't satisfied with throwing her problems somewhere else for somebody else to take care of why she can take care of it herself and by taking care of it herself she can also witness the torment of her problem with her own eyes which surely brings her great satisfaction we see a bit of this in a later scene in another meeting here she uses her condescending tone smiling tightly and talking to Mac once again as if she were speaking to a child this scene sees the deterioration of ratchets composure even further than we had seen during the fantasy ball game once confronted with challenges her face somehow becomes even more menacing her gaze deadlier and her aura much more cold through an even tighter frown when Cheswick begins his outburst she demands that he sit down raising her voice at him and becoming visibly angrier at the ongoing commotion that now surrounds her the calm composed well-to-do nurse is suddenly made into a rage filled mess she can't help it though as much as she'd like to keep her image intact a person's true self tends to show itself in these moments of vulnerability back to her old self in the next meeting ratchet has regained her composure but upon Mac's return we do get to see some discomfort through her facial expressions when he plays his little gag on the boys ever the stoic or so she'd like you to believe Nurse Ratched carries on dutifully with her work now the scene that takes place the day after the Christmas party is the most pivotal scene in the entire movie in a number of ways but especially so in providing us with a perfect image of Ratchet she comes into work as normal the morning after though today something is noticeably wrong she picks up her pace as she walks in the frown that always graces her face has somehow moved even further downward however she keeps calm but through her subordinates we get a glimpse of the unethical sir that she is on the inside rather than going around and waking up the sleeping patients gently they're roughly and rudely roused from their slumbers now this might be a good way to treat a bunch of frat boys who just had a massive party but these are sick men sick men who should be treated with much more care she behaves more akin to a strict teacher overseeing a classroom of unruly boys and the men who work under her act like police officers rather than caretakers these next several minutes in the film are where we see the true extent of her cruel and cold heart Billie after enjoying himself after feeling good about himself confronts miss ratchet after his excursion here I think it's important to note that at this moment his stutter is virtually non-existent confident and full of joy he manages to keep his condition under control but it only takes a few words from the nurse to place him right back where he started you know Billy what worries me is how your mother is going to take this right there she knows her patients she knows how to exploit them and knows what triggers them without so much as a wrinkle moved on her face she drops this bomb upon Billy he begs and pleads for her not to tell his mother but to no avail he's dragged away all the while screaming at her losing all of his senses in pure pain and she looks on once again without any ounce of emotion behind her eyes she shares a glance with McMurphy as if to say look what you've done to him but no while McMurphy undoubtedly broke her rules and likely the rules of any Hospital for that matter Ratched is the one responsible for this lapse in Billy then of course we reached the most important scene of the entire movie the death of Billy Bibbit distraught and seeing no way out Billy chooses to end his life upon exiting the room after examining Billie nurse ratchet forces everyone away and says something only a deluded mind could possibly conceive of his right she tells the men of the ward now calm down the best thing we can do is go on with our daily routine is that what we do Nurse Ratched when presented with the death of a friend of a fellow patient a comrade for these men they should just simply forget and go along with the schedule as planned the sheer insanity of this statement alone is enough to seal her fate as a cold-hearted villain promptly she is strangled by Mac rightly so perhaps after this event Mac is lobotomized whether this is her doing or not is unclear as the hospital board could have made this decision but she surely wouldn't have objected if she were presented with this option in the end she wins in a sense in the film she still retains her speech and after all that's happened it seems that one thing has remained constant on the ward business as usual now that we've gathered all this information about her the pressing question is who exactly is Nurse Ratched we're presented with a woman so caught up in her delusional way of patient care that she causes psychological pain and torment all the patients she's charged with treating which when dealing with mentally ill patients is especially detrimental and cruel cold-hearted and lacking empathy this is a narcissistic and sadistic person whose only goal appears to be the validation of her worldview and the strict and orderly execution of a negligent bureaucracy who sees her as a good example of a nurse rather than the quite terrible one she actually is her ridiculous rules set forth for the ward causes a hindrance to her patients recovery rather than helping it moving them further and further away from rehabilitation not even the death of a patient so Jung who she was particularly close to being friends with his mother after all can move her from the dark corner she's conditioned her mind to inhabit seeking comfort in the world she has created for herself this is Nurse Ratched a character that leaves us nothing to envy and much to despise to put it simply well I think I'll turn it over to McMurphy for that one she ain't honest now look miss ratchets one of the finest nurses we've got in this institution well I don't want to break up the meeting or nothing but she's something of a Connie and she died and so ends our excursion into the mad mind of Nurse Ratched as always if you have any feedback I'd love to hear it leave a comment down below with anything I missed or could improve on and feel free to mention the name of one of your favorite villains that I may feature in an upcoming video thanks for stopping by and I'll be seeing you soon

Channel: The Vile Eye

Views: 976,318

Keywords: Film, cinema, movies, insanity, insane, crazy, asylum, insane asylum, nurse, doctor, hospital, metnal hospital, metnal illness, psychiatry, villain, evil, jack nicholson, analysis, video essay

Id: SSB_IX560S4

Length: 20min 8sec (1208 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 15 2019