The movie I chose to watch was "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," a movie that I've seen several times, though not for at least a year. I chose this title for no particular reason, and even debated whether or not I wanted such a dramatic and tragic film to help me relax. For the most part, it is the film's ending that brought me to write this post. I'm not sure how many of you have seen this movie, or what you remember of it, but the last scene is one that I find incredibly disturbing on a level that extends well beyond the actual moment. (I'm afraid to write spoilers, but I'm sure that if you don't know what I'm talking about you're intrigued enough to seek out the movie and see it for yourself.)
To get to the point of my post, this ending has a strong effect on me every time I watch it, but my reaction now is not nearly as overwhelming as it was the first time I saw it. My initial viewing of the movie left me in tears for hours, and I was so disturbed and sickened by the fate of McMurphy that I actually vomited. (The base of my reaction was much deeper than simply seeing McMurphy, but to philosophize on that would take more time than I can give at the moment.) As I said, I no longer have such reactions to the film. I cry, of course, but only for a few well-controlled minutes, which I think is probably the normal reaction. But watching it a few nights ago made me think of that first time and also made me wonder if any other movie had elicited such an intense and consuming reaction from me.
I couldn't think of any, but I wonder if any of you have had any similar responses to anything in movies, or other media for that matter. I don't mean similar as in necessarily negative, but similar in terms of intensity. Has anything you've watched in movies, read in literature, seen in art, or heard in music struck you in such a powerful and particular way that you are forced to succumb to (what was for me) an uncontrollable emotion?
