Ordinary People
Directed by Robert Redford
Written by Alvin Sargent from a novel by Judith Guest
1980/US
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Calvin “Cal” Jarrett: Well, don’t admire people too much. They’ll disappoint you sometimes.
I have been putting this off for over a year. It’s a very good movie.
The Jarretts are an affluent family in suburban Illinois. Father Cal (Donald Sutherland) is an affable stock broker. Mother Beth (Mary Tyler Moore) stays at home and has an active social life. She clearly cares a lot about appearances and is always immaculately dressed. Son Conrad (Timothy Hutton) is a senior in high school. Before long we learn that the family lost the eldest son Buck in a boating accident. All are still in mourning, especially Conrad who survived the accident.
As the story goes on we see this is a very troubled family. Conrad has recently been released from a mental hospital after a suicide attempt. He starts seeing psychiatrist Dr. Berger (Judd Hirsch). Beth is desperately trying to maintain a facade of normalacy. She keeps pushing Conrad away. Calvin is just confused and sorry. We follow as these people begin to heal, or not.
Robert Redford knocked one out of the park for his directorial debut. The acting is uniformly excellent. Mary Tyler Moore is a revelation. She perfectly portrays the heart of steel underlying a cheerful and polished exterior. It’s beautiful to look at and has held up well over the years.
Ordinary People won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor (Hutton). It was nominated in the categories of Best Actress (Moore) and Best Supporting Actor (Hirsch).
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I’m also watching Kevin Brownlow’s 13-part series Hollywood (1980). The documentary tells the story of the movie industry during the silent era. It’s full of juicy gossip and interviews with people active at that time. Well worth a view and available for free on YouTube.
