Ordinary People

Ordinary People (1980)

Runtime: 124 minutes

Directed by: Robert Redford

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton, Judd Hirsch, Elizabeth McGovern

From: Paramount

This is something I would not have ordinarily watched but as it was on the same ancient blank VHS tape that someone used to record Showtime programming in the early 80's (from the random show that was on for a moment right before this began, the recording is from 1983) and I might as well see what was at the end, I gave this a whirl. As I discovered, it was just advertising for Star Wars-the original-and Chariots of Fire, then a few minutes of Aerobicize before the tape ran out-this was recorded in the middle of the night. After the erotic exercise was Liberace in Las Vegas, which would have been kitschy fun to view, I reckon. Anyway, this has been negatively connected to Raging Bull... more on that at the end.

Viewed without comparisons to its contemporaries, it is a very good adaptation of a novel that isn't light fluffy entertainment as it deals with two tragedies in one family... an older teen son dying in a boating accident and the younger teen son Conrad (Timothy Hutton) attempts suicide. He recently was released from a psychiatric hospital and there are issues between him and his parents. It isn't entirely miserable as he does have Judd Hirsch as a quirky therapist-although perhaps that is how they act... I have never been to a therapy session before-and also a budding romance w/ Elizabeth McGovern. I have seen more than one compare this to Manchester by the Sea; personally, Manchester had some quality moments and great acting but otherwise wasn't pleasant viewing... abrasive characters, constant yelling vulgarity, over the top tragedy... thank heavens this wasn't like that.

OP, I felt bad for the entire family; they are upper middle class yet they are ordinary people in that there's family drama, selfish behavior and struggles in how to deal with all that anguish & events that changed all of them. Conrad feels that his mom does not love him and dad tries to be a peacemaker but they all are suffering. For a directorial debut, Robert Redford did quite well; the story unfurls at a deliberate pace so it is some time before the audience fully understands Conrad's actions and why he attempted to take his own life. What a struggle he went through and in a film with great performances from Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, and Judd Hirsch, it was Hutton who was outstanding and without having seen all the performances in the Best Supporting Actor category that year, his Oscar win was well-deserved. For me it was easy to root for him and his family to at least try to fix their issues that in part are due to a lack of communication. As I only know her for her comedic TV work, Moore in a completely different (not to mention complex) role deserves plenty of praise.


In these modern times, plenty of people look at this derisively due to it beating Raging Bull for Best Picture at the aforementioned Oscars that year. Looking at how other movie awards voted between the two, Ordinary People almost always beat Raging Bull. It is different contemporaneously but at the time most critics preferred this. Not a surprise as it's a serious family drama with serious adult themes & issues that at least a small percentage of the general population can relate to, and has great acting performances and is the directorial debut of an actor that most liked. I haven't seen Scorsese's movie in many years so I can't compare the two. I can say that both are worthy of viewing for different reasons.