A few weeks ago came out Ratched, the new Netflix series created by the father of American Horror Story. Headlining are Sarah Paulson and Finn Wittrock, recurring actors of the saga whose tenth season is eagerly awaited. Neat light, dazzling colors… Could it be the famous paw of the "messiah" Ryan Murphy? With an art direction that promised to be similar to that of Hollywood and AHS, a twisted synopsis and a tantalizing cast, Ratched already ticked all the boxes.
To complete an already rather successful cocktail, we note the presence of Sharon Stone, Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), Charlie Carver (one of Lynette's twins in Desperate Housewives), Corey Stoll (The Strain) and Amanda Plummer (Pulp Fiction) in the role of Louise, the insufferable manager of the motel where Mildred Ratched will stay throughout the series.
Ratched as Sarah Paulson as Castrating Nurse
On Netflix since September 18, Ratched is a prequel to the feature film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Milos Forman, 1975). Also based on Ken Kesey's novel, the series explores the past of the gloomy Mildred Ratched. Quickly, the pilot lays the foundations of the story. Mildred Ratched, a former war nurse, is desperate to get into Lucia Hospital. More than determined to access this position, she plays the card of nerve and forces fate to be hired by Dr. Hanover. Played by Jon Jon Briones (American Horror Story: Coven), the latter plays here a brilliant psychiatrist with drug addicts.
Using persuasiveness and unfailing confidence, Mildred will gradually overturn all the pawns of the chessboard to achieve her goal: to gain access to Edmund Tolleson, thug responsible for the massacre of a group of priests and sent to Lucia for a psychiatric examination. Cold and organized, Mildred will not give up on anything to achieve her goals. She will face the vengeful crusade led against her by Nurse Bucket, a former head nurse deposed and scorned by Dr. Hanover with whom she is madly smitten.
Two works, two Mildreds?
Played by Louise Fletcher, the Mildred Ratched portrayed by Milos Forman is deeply embittered, even heartless. His face even looks like a ghost as it is icy and devoid of emotions. Sarah Paulson plays a cold-haired, self-confident Mildred who is constantly haunted by her sinister past. However, despite Ratched's good intentions, something is wrong. The problem is not in the series or in the film, but in the combination of the two. If Ryan Murphy's baby is an explanation of Mildred's character, the two interpretations of nurse Ratched do not stick. After reviewing the film, one thing struck me: these two Mildreds have something diametrically opposed.
Manipulative, yes but not only
From the first scenes of Ratched, Mildred, survivor of an unhappy childhood, still shows a benevolent heart. Not afraid to manipulate to get what she wants, she often shows kindness to those who deserve it. Too curious, Mildred learns that the staff lied to Salvatore and that Salvatore will never get out of Lucia. She then decides to tell him the truth and encourages him to end his life, to ease his pain.
Later, we learn that his whole life revolves around the suffering of those around him. During her years at the front, Mildred, an angel of mercy, helped war-scarred soldiers leave with dignity. This past, so traumatic and which never ceases to haunt her, remains for her a real outlet. In her erotic games with Wainwright, she relives the last moments of the soldiers whose suffering she has shortened. She thus transforms her euthanasia into sexual acts, as if to exorcise her terrible past executions.
Altruistic despite her appearance as an unyielding tyrant, Mildred tolerates men only when they bend to her will. She will submit both Dr. Hanover, whom she manipulates like a puppet, and Charles Wainwright, whom she sexually dominates. While Ryan Murphy's Mildred helps several of Lucia's patients, Milos Forman's bears little resemblance to her. Sadistic, she likes to humiliate and infantilize the sick, without ever granting them an ounce of sympathy. Her almost bloodshot eyes, piercing eyes and terrifying greenish complexion are strongly reminiscent of Kathy Bates' character in Misery.
When coherence finally shows the tip of its nose
Despite some implausibilities in the evolution and character of Mildred's character, several points reveal a certain coherence. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, JackNicholson plays Randall P. McMurphy, an offender staying in a psychiatric hospital to be examined. It's not hard to find similarities between McMurphy and Tolleson. Helped by Mildred, he pretends to be a schizophrenic with psychotic tendencies in order to avoid the death penalty. McMurphy, on the other hand, does not play the fool and remains a hardened thug impervious to authority. The approach is different, but the result is almost identical. Despite their eccentric characters, neither has a place in a mental asylum.
Interned, but sane
Warning, spoilers! In the series, Mildred throws a ball at which Tolleson (who is later revealed to be her brother) must violently stage her madness in order to escape the lethal injection. Edmund and Dolly, the young nurse he has fallen in love with, decide to seize this opportunity to run away together instead of following Mildred's meticulously devised plan. Tolleson throws himself into the wolf's mouth and ruins all the efforts made by Mildred.
Isn't that a reason to treat McMurphy like she does in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ? Perhaps she finds in him a little bit of Tolleson, unconsciously pushing her to infantilize him to better punish him instead of her brother. The trauma of losing the last member of her family (and perhaps also her girlfriend, who we learn suffers from cancer at the end of the season) would have made her embittered to the point that her cold beauty turned into an unhealthy ugliness.
Edmund Tolleson, a familiar reflection of McMurphy
But Tolleson and McMurphy have another thing in common: their power of attraction. On one side, Tolleson, who conquers Dolly's heart by opening up to her. On the other McMurphy, who unites other patients by giving them the attention and respect they deserve. The changes in the film's staging are a testament to McMurphy's tremendous positive influence on his classmates. From fairly wide shots, we gradually move to tighter and tighter shots that bring the characters together. Milos Forman thus perfectly illustrates the new complicity that unites them. McMurphy, a mobster with a contagious joie de vivre, against Mildred Ratched, who belittles to better submit. Ryan Murphy's Mildred almost seems to be a mix between herself and McMurphy: a perverse manipulator with a tender heart.
Such a characteristic visual aesthetic
Storytelling aside, one of the series' biggest strengths is its aesthetic. Ryan Murphy's style, particularly recognizable, takes on a whole new dimension here thanks to his remarkable use of colors. The latter goes so far as to completely modify the colorimetry of certain scenes to illustrate the changes in emotions of the protagonists, and this in a way never before seen in his previous creations (Hollywood and American Horror Story). Here, the dull colors of a hospital room turn to apple green, a hue usually associated with libertinism, when Mildred catches one of the nurses in the middle of a sexual act.
Like American Horror Story, we will once again note a very beautiful work on light. True to his style, Ryan Murphy offers us often wide viewing angles to better highlight a scenography always as neat.
We find in Ryan Murphy's creations this subdued, almost warm atmosphere (certainly a little less present in American Horror Story: Asylum, with many colder shots), a visual unity recognizable at first glance.
Admittedly, it takes two episodes for Ratched to install a real suspense. Nevertheless, those who enjoyed Hollywood and American Horror Story will not miss this series that can be savored! It is even an opportunity to be (re)tempted by One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year.
