* * * * *
Cast: Donald Sutherland, Mary Taylor Moore, Timothy Hutton, Judd Hirsch
Screenplay: Alvin Sargent (Based on the novel by Judith Guest)
124 minutes / Color
There isn’t a great enough family drama (except for “The Godfather”, which is more categorized as a gangster movie) that can beat “Ordinary People” in my list. Not even “Terms of Endearment” (1983). Very deservingly, “Ordinary People” is provocative, witty, charming, full of heart but also sensational and truthful in the same time. It tells the story of a suburban family who is hiding their terrible emotions of a tragedy that happened years ago, and lives as “ordinary people” living as upper-class citizens.
When Calvin (Donald Sutherland) and Beth (Mary Taylor Moore) Jarrett’s oldest son Buck dies in a boating accident, which their other son Conrad (Timothy Hutton) also experienced, the family goes topsy-turby as Calvin tries to bring back their old, happy lifestyle.
Their son, Conrad, is still traumatized after seeing his brother die in front of his eyes and had sunk into a deep depression and is the so-called “problem” of the family after attempting to commit suicide. His mother, the ambitious, selfish, self-centered Beth and him don’t connect at all and hardly ever speak to each other with relationship of screams and small talk. Calvin tries to understand his son, but the selfishness and the cruelty of the mother, who favorites the diseased Buck, does nothing to help him.
Conrad soon starts seeing Dr. Berger (Judd Hirsh), a not-so-popular but very good physiatrist who opens doors for Conrad and becomes the soul reason why he enters back into the real world. Still, Calvin tries all the possibilities to make his son happy, but the lack of interest of Beth (who would rather go to Europe or play golf in Boston or chit chat on the phone) keep their family torn apart.
However, at the end, Calvin realizes that it isn’t his son who was the problem and causing all their grief. It’s Beth, who had not the will to let go of Bucks death and who has treated everyone with no respect. Calvin tells Beth that he didn’t know if he still loved her and Beth leaves them, leaving her depressed husband and son who might just have a chance to really be ordinary people once more.
When it comes to the film; the sentiment and power is oh-so powerful and outstanding. Robert Redford’s shots and way of story telling was delectable as could be was a good perception of how a whole family is tortured by the doings of one person who blames their grief on another. The cast was really stupendous. Even the simplicity and casualness of Dinah Manoff (who appeared as Marty in “Grease” (1978)) playing a depressed school girl was already brilliant.
The two veterans, Donald Sutherland and Mary Taylor Moore, I could say they were good but were quickly outshined by the stupendous and heartbreaking performance given to us by the young Timothy Hutton. Sutherland had a huge role, but he made is seem smaller. His character is actually the one who freed Conrad into having the chance of a normal life. He was good whatsoever and very heartwarming. The coward-of-a-woman performance portrayed to us by Mary Taylor Moore was very good. She did what she was supposed to do…piss people off. Believe me, I was really, really pissed at her while watching this. Uhh….
The superior however, the star, the spectacle was no other then Conrad: Timothy Hutton. What a performance this was! From the first to the last show, he was very perfect. Perfect every way. I can proudly say though that he did not deserve his win for Best Supporting Actor…well, because he should have won for Best Lead Actor instead! What a shameful category fraud I thought the whole time. Timothy Hutton showed so much depth and did such a great job. He was the center of attention the whole time.
The film’s screenplay is glorious no doubt. It’s interesting to see a film with so much effort in the writing and direction and acting and not worry about how the actor’s looked. They actor’s looked as they should be: depressed. Human nature pieces are usually fine but this is a human nature film that is definitely worth a lot of viewings. The interactions, the behavior, the characterizations were so perfect and deeply moving. It was fantastic and very little flaws could be found in this marvelous motion picture.
“Ordinary People” is no ordinary movie. It is one that goes far and wide and tells us that depression could be misunderstood. It is one of the most interesting films of the 1980’s that I’ve viewed and I have nothing more say except that the movie is sheer amazement.
Cast: Donald Sutherland, Mary Taylor Moore, Timothy Hutton, Judd Hirsch
Screenplay: Alvin Sargent (Based on the novel by Judith Guest)
124 minutes / Color
There isn’t a great enough family drama (except for “The Godfather”, which is more categorized as a gangster movie) that can beat “Ordinary People” in my list. Not even “Terms of Endearment” (1983). Very deservingly, “Ordinary People” is provocative, witty, charming, full of heart but also sensational and truthful in the same time. It tells the story of a suburban family who is hiding their terrible emotions of a tragedy that happened years ago, and lives as “ordinary people” living as upper-class citizens.
When Calvin (Donald Sutherland) and Beth (Mary Taylor Moore) Jarrett’s oldest son Buck dies in a boating accident, which their other son Conrad (Timothy Hutton) also experienced, the family goes topsy-turby as Calvin tries to bring back their old, happy lifestyle.
Their son, Conrad, is still traumatized after seeing his brother die in front of his eyes and had sunk into a deep depression and is the so-called “problem” of the family after attempting to commit suicide. His mother, the ambitious, selfish, self-centered Beth and him don’t connect at all and hardly ever speak to each other with relationship of screams and small talk. Calvin tries to understand his son, but the selfishness and the cruelty of the mother, who favorites the diseased Buck, does nothing to help him.
Conrad soon starts seeing Dr. Berger (Judd Hirsh), a not-so-popular but very good physiatrist who opens doors for Conrad and becomes the soul reason why he enters back into the real world. Still, Calvin tries all the possibilities to make his son happy, but the lack of interest of Beth (who would rather go to Europe or play golf in Boston or chit chat on the phone) keep their family torn apart.
However, at the end, Calvin realizes that it isn’t his son who was the problem and causing all their grief. It’s Beth, who had not the will to let go of Bucks death and who has treated everyone with no respect. Calvin tells Beth that he didn’t know if he still loved her and Beth leaves them, leaving her depressed husband and son who might just have a chance to really be ordinary people once more.
When it comes to the film; the sentiment and power is oh-so powerful and outstanding. Robert Redford’s shots and way of story telling was delectable as could be was a good perception of how a whole family is tortured by the doings of one person who blames their grief on another. The cast was really stupendous. Even the simplicity and casualness of Dinah Manoff (who appeared as Marty in “Grease” (1978)) playing a depressed school girl was already brilliant.
The two veterans, Donald Sutherland and Mary Taylor Moore, I could say they were good but were quickly outshined by the stupendous and heartbreaking performance given to us by the young Timothy Hutton. Sutherland had a huge role, but he made is seem smaller. His character is actually the one who freed Conrad into having the chance of a normal life. He was good whatsoever and very heartwarming. The coward-of-a-woman performance portrayed to us by Mary Taylor Moore was very good. She did what she was supposed to do…piss people off. Believe me, I was really, really pissed at her while watching this. Uhh….
The superior however, the star, the spectacle was no other then Conrad: Timothy Hutton. What a performance this was! From the first to the last show, he was very perfect. Perfect every way. I can proudly say though that he did not deserve his win for Best Supporting Actor…well, because he should have won for Best Lead Actor instead! What a shameful category fraud I thought the whole time. Timothy Hutton showed so much depth and did such a great job. He was the center of attention the whole time.
The film’s screenplay is glorious no doubt. It’s interesting to see a film with so much effort in the writing and direction and acting and not worry about how the actor’s looked. They actor’s looked as they should be: depressed. Human nature pieces are usually fine but this is a human nature film that is definitely worth a lot of viewings. The interactions, the behavior, the characterizations were so perfect and deeply moving. It was fantastic and very little flaws could be found in this marvelous motion picture.
“Ordinary People” is no ordinary movie. It is one that goes far and wide and tells us that depression could be misunderstood. It is one of the most interesting films of the 1980’s that I’ve viewed and I have nothing more say except that the movie is sheer amazement.
.bmp)
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