Ordinary People

source: Ordinary People

Trailer—Ordinary People

Ordinary People

A simply yet beautifully filmed drama that does not over-complicate or over-glorify the issues at hand - the film simply feels real, tackling strong emotions without the production feeling like typical Hollywood kitsch. The film does not seem like a TV melodrama either, with the quality of the acting, if nothing else, taking it to a high level. Donald Sutherland gives off one his career's best, most human performances, whilst Timothy Hutton shines as a youth who blames himself for others' problems but yet still contributes a lot of blame to his mother. Some of the scenes are really well edited too, and in fact there is little that jumps out as being a flaw in the film. Arguably, it touches on a psychological base a bit too much, and perhaps there is a bit too much maudlin music, but there is really little wrong with this film, which is perceptive, touching, and far off being ordinary.

I was 16 years old in 1984 when I first saw this movie. I was also clinically depressed and suicidal. I had been on antidepressants for about a year (in the pre-prozac days) and I happened to see this movie on Showtime or HBO - almost by accident. Timothy Hutton perfectly captures what it's like to be depressed as a teenager. And Judd Hirsch and Hutton perfectly capture the patient/therapist relationship. There are also a few perfect little scenes that capture the problems of a family that can't communicate. Especially memorable is the scene where Calvin tells Beth about the shoes he wore to Buck's funeral. This film captures all of the important moments like this that truly demonstrate the problems the family is having. After seeing it, I read the book and I knew that if Conrad could go on, so could I. I watch this movie once every few years. It really means a lot to me.

ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980) **** Mary Tyler Moore, Donald Sutherland, Timothy Hutton, Elizabeth McGovern, Judd Hirsch, Adam Baldwin, M. Emmet Walsh, James B. Sikking, Dinah Manoff. Stunningly emotional domestic drama about an upper middle-class family coming apart at the seams after a tragic boating accident kills their eldest son and the shattering impact felt by its surviving sibling (a devestatingly poignant Oscar-winning Hutton for Best Supporting Actor in his film debut). Moore is the cold mother with chilling moments and Sutherland is emphatically low-key. Perfect direction by first-time director Robert Redford who garnered an Oscar as well as Best Picture, and Alvin Sargent's Best Screenplay based on the best seller by Judith Guest. (Best moment: Hutton learning about a friend's sudden death by a phone call; harrowing and definetly will have you crying)